ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
AYESHA DURRANI
b. 1976, Peshawar Pakistan
Lives and works in Lahore, Pakistan
Education
B.F.A., Miniature Painting, National College of Arts Lahore (2003)
Diploma Course, Fashion Design, Pakistan School Of Fashion Design Lahore (1997)
B.A., English Literature and Law, Jinnah College for Women, Peshawar (1996)
Artist's Statement
They say a woman's heart is like an ocean, the depth of which cannot be measured, and that it carries as many secrets! In my new work I have tried to look inside a woman's heart and soul, trying to measure that depth. In most societies, girls are brought up to fulfill very specific roles. They are trained to sacrifice their happiness and needs in order to make others happy. It is this concept of self sacrifice that I have tried to portray, and the price of that sacrifice that women pay. Women are supposed to think with their hearts and not with their heads, at least that's what we are told! This is also probably why women are not taken seriously. Why people hesitate to give them positions of power and importance. In my paintings I have shown the heart as more than a muscle that pumps blood through the body. For a woman it is more than that. We associate all kind of feelings with the heart. It is a vessel that contains not only our blood but our emotions and feelings. A man can win our heart or break it! We can feel the heart ache and break, even though any doctor will tell you that it isn't possible, yet women translate most of their emotions through the heart. Sometimes women give their hearts away and never get anything back in return, yet it is men who suffer mostly from heart attacks!
Select Exhibitions
2009 Purdah 2.0 : Body Matters, Halvai Gallery, New York
2009 Bazgasht , Art Gallery of Mississuaga, Canada
2009 Love's Microcosm, Aicon Gallery, Palo Alto
2009 Travelogue, Vogue Art Gallery, Lahore
2008 Isn't SheLovely, Gandhara Art Karachi
2008 Tradition, Technique, Technology, Aicon Gallery, New York
2007 Configurations, Anant Gallery, New Delhi
2006 Canvas Gallery, Karachi
2005 Croweaters Gallery, Lahore
2005 Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi
2005 Segregation, Anant Gallery, New Delhi
2005 Love/Hate, Third Line Gallery, Dubai
2005 Art-En-Chartreuse, France
2005 Voice, World Bank Office, Islamabad
2005 V.M. Art Gallery, Karachi
2005 Re Inventing Narratives, Moroccan Embassy of Pakistan, Morocco
2005 Diverse Voices, Omani Society for Fine Arts, Muscat
2005 Contemporary Miniatures Paintings from Pakistan, Fakuka Asian Art Museum, Japan
2004 Interpretations, Rohtas Gallery, Islamabad
2004 Extensions, Canvas Gallery, Karachi
2003 New Voices, Canvas Gallery, Karachi
2003 Thesis Display at NCA; Lahore
Residencies
2006 The Vermont Studio Center, USA
2005 Vasal, Karachi