Ruptures of Rasheed Araeen in the Politics of Visual Art: Toward a New Art Discourse in Pakistan

Abstract

In the context of contemporary Pakistani art and their politics, this chapter discusses two works by Rasheed Araeen (1935‑), whose esthetics constitute of their socially productive intervention within a public space and connect to a historical frame. Araeen’s Theory of Nominalism was presented in Karachi, in 2003, and his work, Shamiyaana: Food for Thought, Thought for Change, was installed at Documenta 14, in Athens, in 2017. Araeen’s larger trajectory of subversion and confrontation is well-documented. However, his proposals for land and alternate solutions to potential ecological imbalances and problems of food deprivation and distribution of resources have yet to come under discussion in Pakistan. His esthetics challenges the status quo of inclusive circles, and insists on a broader connection based on an equal access and participation by the public. In this context, the chapter is an attempt to situate Araeen’s work referred to above in a boarder political landscape that offers them a more nuanced understanding.