Envisioned by Mohsin Shafi

at Theosophical Society, Jamshed Memorial Hall, Karachi

June 2 – 4, 2024

Vasl Artists’ Association in collaboration with The Repair Atelier launched the third chapter of the Vasl’s museum series ‘Museum of Repair’ in March 2023. A year-long museum-based experiment for creative practitioners to investigate repair as a contemporary expression of empowerment, agency, and resistance to our unmaking of the world and the environment.

There are moments in our past that gnaw at us still. May it be professional regrets, memories of unrequited love, or familial tragedies. We ponder over these instances during our waking moments, and the precious few before we go to sleep. But most days, we try to put these troubling thoughts aside, pulling them apart, only so we can live without worry, for the time being. And we are successful too for a mere moment, before something triggers our memory yet again, and we relive it, as if it happened only yesterday. Indeed, this is a weight we carry on our shoulders at all times, which we are unable to forget and let go. But what if we could go back in time and repair them somehow? Undo the hurt they caused us? Or simply view them in a new light today, and perhaps finally gain some closure and start again.

These memories are further connected to objects and knickknacks, which have the power to transport us across time and space in a blink of an eye. These objects thus keep us forever tethered to these memories, stowed away in dusty boxes and bottom drawers. Understandably and despite their dilapidated state, they still hold great value for us. What could one do then if one could share these objects, and hence their associated memories with others like oneself? Could we then come together in communal remembrance of what is past, and perhaps attempt to repair which was broken long ago?

These are some of the questions that the Museum of Repairing Reminiscences hopes to unravel through recalling memories together in a communal space.

Through an open call, Shafi asked contributors to share their memories in any form, may they be audio or video, written details of an incident, photographs of any nature, official documents, or three-dimensional objects to be a part of the Museum. As a collector of these archives and curator of these memories, these instances are further translated by Shafi into an audio-visual experience to envision a place of healing, where we may begin to repair and remediate our memories, and find newer ways of associating with them.

About Mohsin Shafi

Mohsin Shafi is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Lahore, Pakistan. His work investigates the blurred edges between identity and the intentions of identity, attempting to capture what he sees and record their frail existence, only to return and relive. With his collages, ensembles, video works, and installations, He often engages ostensibly local narratives and challenges supposedly familiar images in our collective indulgence. Picking from actual personal narratives, as well as records and references, Shafi adds to the visuals in a way that exposes a deep-set discomfort. He exploits his unadulterated access to the deepest emotions embedded beneath the surface; to explore the whispered secrets of dreams and long-buried memories.

Mohsin holds a Masters Degree in Visual Arts and BFA Degree in Design, both from the National College of Arts in Lahore. In the last decade, Shafi has showcased his work at all prominent galleries in Pakistan, as well as exhibited at various art fairs, galleries, and alternative spaces around the globe.