Tukkal

Sultana’s work is based on a statement “What a man sees depends both upon what he looks at and also upon what his previous visual-conceptual experience has taught him to see” by Thomas Kuhn. The identification of normal and abnormal, social construct of morality, culture and religion, beauty and race, class and status makes the artist questions the authenticity and relevancy of the society she lives in. The stubbornness of human behavior related to these factors disturbs the artist’s concept of what personal freedom of choice should look like. Is this the true knowledge that we observe or there exists a greater reality of this world? The artist inquires certain questions through her work; she evokes a sense of unfamiliarity projecting the imagery in an uncanny setting. She explores how these constructs of race, culture, mortality; beauty, etc are pre-conceived in our minds and to what extent a human being is affected by these societal factors.

Born in 1998, Sumbal graduated from College of Art and Design, University of Punjab, Lahore in 2021. Being a native of Lahore, Pakistan, Sultana explores her interest in the local craftsmanship of chasing and repousse, which has been practiced for many years locally, in her work. Sultana has infused the concept of art and craft by blending her local subject matter into bold, intricate shapes and patterns. Sultana’s work primarily investigates the multiple man-made realities and how it put an influence on the perception of human mind in a socially constructed society. Sultana exhibited her work many times in Alhamra Art Centre, Lahore, V M Art Gallery, Karachi, and recently in a group show at Dominion Art Gallery, Lahore.