Shahzia Sikander has incorporated iconoclasm into her artistic practice for over thirty years, beginning with her founding role in the development of the neo-miniature painting movement. She reconceives Indo-Persian miniature painting and calligraphy through many mediums including animation and large-scale mosaics, as well as through interdisciplinary collaboration. The two works included in this exhibition, The Scroll, which brought the artist initial acclaim upon her graduation from the National College of Arts in Lahore, and No Calm of Consummation, from the artist’s most recent series, were created thirty years apart. The two works illustrate Sikander’s trajectory from depicting compelling narratives through figuration to considering the dual role of language to symbolically convey meaning and visually inform and inspire.

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