Shahzia Sikander
Shahzia Sikander
Shahzia Sikanderis a Pakistani artist who works in drawing, painting, animation, large-scale installation, performance and video, on an international stage...
NationalityPakistani
ProfessionArtist
CountryPakistan
transcend
Not to be boxed in, to be able to transcend boundaries: for an artist, it's essential.
focus listen music peace quiet thinking time work
I don't really listen to music when I work. I really have to focus on one thing at a time. I like a lot of quiet and peace when I'm working or when I'm thinking or when I'm reading.
hardly nerd quite
I was very, very quiet. I was always a loner, hardly spoke, and I was quite a nerd in school. So I was an outsider always.
across country drive
I like driving. A lot. I think that's something I just enjoy the most. I can, at a moment's notice, drive across the country if, you know, I had to.
arrived central cowboy distinct elaborate fascinated incredibly seemed styles
When I first arrived in Houston, I was fascinated with the elaborate styles of cowboy boots and thought they were incredibly exotic. They also seemed to be a central part of a specifically 'Texan' identity, one distinct from being 'American.'
practice drawing imagination
For me, drawing is a way of navigating the imagination, and it remains the fundamental vehicle of my practice. Drawing allows me to be at my most inventive.
practice rebuilding transformation
I'm interested in taking a form, breaking it apart, and then rebuilding it. It is about transformation for me...it is a very core notion that stabilizes my practice.
gestures painting ends
In the end, the gesture of painting becomes almost meditative, like a ritual.