Galli Soorjan Singh
Doodh Batti | Numaish Karachi
Materials: Ceramic teacups, metal rings and chain, bulbs and holders, wire, pipe in formations of 6, 10 and 14 cups
The significance of tea in the culture of the subcontinent dates back four centuries to the British Raj. Since then chai has become an essential part of daily life and is the vehicle through which people connect, in public and in private. Humble roadside tea stalls or chai dhabas are gathering points for a neighbourhood. At the other end of the spectrum are establishments such as the Pak Tea House in Lahore which became famous as a space where some of the most influential literary and political names met between the 1950s and 1970s.
The symbolism of chai inspires this installation that is made of angootha muggis (‘thumb-sized mugs’) used to serve tea at these dhabas. Light bulbs or battis placed inside the teacups symbolize tea’s ability to bring life to a space such as a dhaba that serves a community. The title Doodh Batti is thus a play on the name of a ubiquitous recipe ‘doodh patti’ for the brew in which it is rendered especially milky, sweet and strong. The installation is suspended as a ‘chandelier’ which mimics the round metal structures found at these dhabas from which cups and kettles hang to dry within easy reach. The glowing teacups have been welded together in a circle just as people tend to come together over a cup of tea.
Mazaar Sufi Deen Mohammad | Hast-o-Neest
Hafiz Bilal Ashraf, Danish Baloch, Syeda Komal Fatima, Taimoor K Mumtaz, Azmat Naqqash, Sana Nizami
Materials: Unity Games Engine, Oculus Rift VR, Projection
Auliya Allah are the embodiments of the living spirit of our traditional culture. We pay homage and celebrate the presence of one such personality, Sufi Din Mohammad (d. 1960), who lived and died where his mazaar now stands at the end of Galli Soorjan Singh.
Sufi Sahib’s spiritual presence lives on not only through his tomb but also in the anecdotes and living memories of his neighbours and their children to this day. Some of these stories will be shared by them during the Sheheherezade weekend.
The mazaar structure, dating to 1960, designed and built by the saint’s close disciple Mistri Jamal Din (d. 1974), although mostly traditional in form, is finished with coloured cement terrazzo mosaics typical of the period. The Hast-o-Neest Institute of Traditional Studies & Arts intends to rejuvenate the mazaar complex and repair its back-lit calligraphic glass windowpanes before adding decorations in the form of a tensile geometric chador for the courtyard and decorative lights, flower-strings, oil lamps and incense.
Yahan se Sheher ko Dekho—Look at the City from Here | Numaish Karachi—Ali Rizvi
Medium: Drone footage
This bold digital piece fuses a study of authentic Islamic geometric design patterns with cutting-edge algorithmic generation, to create a compelling large-scale interactive artwork. Inspired by the incredible centuries-old ingenuity that underpins Islamic geometric forms, the artist has set out to create a rich engaging work that allows the viewer to explore and examine the construction process and creation of hundreds of traditional geometric forms. The work tracks the hands and bodies of the viewers, allowing them to move up and down the timeline of creation: from the first tentative pencil strokes, through to the final tessellated design, mirroring those found in Islamic architecture and design. The designs are fleeting, fluctuating, and ever-changing based on the presence of the audience: traditional geometric forms presented through cutting-edge interactive software, projected beautifully at scale in Lahore.
Lahore Da Daman—Lahore’s Daman | Zahid Mayo
Materials: Water-based emulsion
The setting for this calligraphic undertaking, Patli Galli, is one of the narrowest alleys of the Walled City—just wide enough to accommodate a single individual at a time. This unusual spatial constriction is understood to be a vital feature of the Androon Sheher’s architectural planning. In ancient times, narrow alleys such as these would provide shelter for inhabitants and deterrence against enemy cavalry, preventing their horses and elephants from access.
Since then, the Patli Galli has lead to many anecdotes, both real and embellished, most notably in the literary works of the celebrated humourist Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi.
Building on this significance, Zahid Mayo’s intense rendition of Ustad Daman’s iconic Punjabi poetry transforms this passage into a continuous stream of text—interrupted only by the windows and the doors of the architecture. The ebb and flow of the Nasta’liq script immerses pedestrians in the rhythm of Lahore Da Daman:
Pray tell me, in the city of Lahore how many are the doors, and how many the windows?
And tell me also how many of its bricks are broken, and how many are whole?
–In collaboration with Rida Fatima
Gaana–An Installation | Sonia Murad
Materials: Ganna of various sizes and colours, beads, mirrors, stamping paper, buntings, leaves (neem), fabric, golden netting, matkhas (clay pots)
This installation is inspired by a ganna, which is an adornment constructed out of threads and tassels, woven in the traditional bridal colours of red and gold. The ganna represents fertility and is presented to a bride on her wedding day to wear during the ceremony. This ritual is prevalent across the villages of Punjab, where it is considered a rite of passage. In this work, Murad has constructed and placed gannas, of varying materials and sizes, on the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) that stands in the courtyard of the Alif Shah Haveli. The neem tree is native to the subcontinent, where it holds great practical and cultural significance. Neem oil, bark, leaves and twigs have been used for medicinal purposes for years, whilst the tree itself features strongly in local folklore. Murad’s handmade gannas evoke both celebration and tradition.
Between Abodes | Humayun Memon
Navigating through the tight spaces between peoples houses in the Androon Sheher, one is always trying to either dodge oncoming foot traffic whilst chalking out a path to wherever they’re heading. Visitors seldom stop and look up at the odd shapes the skies make between these abodes.
Memon’s series captures these strange slivers and shafts of light in the middle of some of the streets of the Walled City—giving the viewer a new perspective of the spaces they walk through.
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