‘Outside In, Inside Out’ features three emerging artists, invited to reflect, develop and produce on the theme of facades, spaces and architecture. Mina Arham and Zahra Asim from Lahore and Raasmia Minal Haque from Karachi have previously worked together at Vasl Artists’ Association’s summer residency Forms | Facades in 2019. In this exhibition, the three artists are responding to spaces in their own specific styles – from painting to sculpture and drawing. The viewer is invited to observe three unique perspectives to architectural forms and spaces. Raasima Haque’s sculptures are a direct response to female roles in gendered environment. She has created immersive wooden sculptures, as various abstracted forms of footwear, reflecting on functionalities of spaces within household settings. Zahra Asim’s paintings depict the layered complexities and inequities of female spaces, focusing on the kitchen. Mina Arham’s intricate drawings highlight historical and cultural elements within facades, converging on icons and symbology of architecture, documenting and abstracting within a larger cultural context.

About Mina:

Mina Arham – graduated with a degree in Fine Art from the National College of Arts, Lahore in 2014. She has exhibited vastly in Pakistan along with Delhi, Italy and Brussels. She was also the recipient of the Gasworks Residency in London in 2015. She is currently working with the Aga Khan Foundation on the restoration of the Wazir Khan Mosque. Previously she was involved in the restoration of the Shahi Hamam and Picture Wall, Lahore Fort. She is the Outgoing Curator of Global Shapers Lahore, an initiative of the world economic forum.

About Raasmia:

Raasmia Haque – born in Karachi, Pakistan in 1991, completed her Bachelors in Architecture from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi, in 2017. Raasmia was a summer artist in residence at Vasl in 2019. She has participated in various programs such as heritage conservation with Yasmeen Lari, IAPEX and Arcasia and worked at ARCOP Associates. Parallel to her architectural practice, Raasmia explores the avenues of design. Haque studies the untapped potential of shoe and product design in taking inspiration from modern day architecture. She attended the UAL London College of Fashion Summer School for Footwear Design in 2018 and attended a specialized artisan footwear course at the Polimoda School, Florence, Italy. Haque received a diploma in Footwear design later in 2019 from UAL London College of Fashion.

About Zahra:

Zahra Asim – was born in 1990 in Lahore, Pakistan. She has a degree in Fine Arts from National College of Arts and Masters in Art and Design from Beaconhouse National University. Her work is a narrative about domestic spaces. Her aim is to confront claustrophobic memories through strategies and turn them into nostalgic past. Her work has been shown at solo and group exhibitions in prestigious galleries of Pakistan, Indonesia, Italy, USA and UAE. She was also a part of a residency at Sanat Initiative, Karachi in 2014 and Vasl Summer residency, Karachi in 2019. She is currently living and working in Lahore.