My work investigates the concept of cultures, in particular my struggle between two contrasting societies, one being my origins in Pakistan and the Western society. By looking at these cultures I am able to transfer my own knowledge of these cultures into my paintings on canvas. I start of by using solid colours which originate from traditional Asian clothing; I do this by making my own paint from raw pigments and also using screen-printing, which originate from East Asia, this way of work the colours used give the work a richness of colour that I am trying to portraying in my work. Then later I add the Western elements to the work by looking at the way the Westerns make their paintings, such as stretching their work on a stretcher; I add additional elements to the work, still coming from the western society such as pen, which is applied on top of the canvas, and also using dyed fabric that is later on stretched onto the stretcher.

The designs I use are originally from an ancient technique called Mehndi (is an Urdu meaning for ‘henna’). Mehndi is a temporary tattoo that is applied on as a paste onto the hand and feet, it is mostly common to do decorative designs on the bride’s hands and feet before her wedding day. Mehndi originally came from a plant which is grinded down until it becomes into powder. Sometime oil or water is used to make it into a paste, which in some cases is put into a cone, which is an easier way to apply the Mehndi onto the hand. The paste can last for a couple of days or weeks, depending on how strong the pastes are. The designs came in a variety of forms such as in Pakistani and Indian society the most common forms used is the teardrops. 

The reason why I apply these two different tools and technique onto the canvas is because I want to introduce this relationship between these two very different cultures. By using these different techniques and tools I am able to show my struggles between these two very different societies.