Merchant of Dreams

Rushda A graduated from the National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore in 2000 with an honors BFA in Visual Arts, specializing in printmaking. Her passion for exploring creative boundaries inspired her to pursue a Master’s in Multimedia Arts at NCA, which she completed in 2003, focusing on lens-based creative practices. Over the years, Rushda has participated in selected group exhibitions across Pakistan and the UK and remains actively involved in various artistic endeavors. Her artistic practice transcends mere representation, exploring the profound interplay between tradition and modernity through multimedia and photographic works. Engaging with both lens-based compositions and the spontaneity of camera-less techniques, Rushda’s work serves as a reflective exploration of temporal and spatial dimensions. It constitutes a philosophical inquiry into the nature of perception, reality, and the fluidity of cultural narratives, artfully uniting the meticulous processes of darkroom craftsmanship with the innovative potential of digital technology. Her practice fosters a dialogue between heritage and modernity, yielding profoundly resonant works that delve into identity, culture, and themes of transformation.

In her solo exhibition, “Pop, Pixels & Dollar Dreams,” at Art Soch Contemporary in Lahore, Pakistan (January 2024), Rushda explores dreamlike imagery from her childhood, influenced by the vibrant world of Western cartoons and storybooks, while intertwining it with images of royal symbols that signify possibility, escape, and transformation for many of her fellow countrymen and women. Her work explores the challenges of migration and its impact on identity, revealing a life suspended between the nostalgia of Eastern traditions and the allure of Western ideals. The hybrid cartoon figures in her art symbolize cultural assimilation and the duality of existence for someone.