A Moment of Vision

By Sabiha Iqbal

Curated by Adah Rose Bitterbaum

September 27th - October 21st, 2023

This body of work is ekphrastic based on the poetry of my mother Ada Jafarey who was a distinguished poet of Pakistan, having published many books on poetry and her autobiography. Born in 1924 in India, she rose to become a prominent figure in contemporary literature in Pakistan. She was a feminist, a leader and innovator. Her poetry was strong commentary on the social, political, and cultural events of her times. She was also very sensitive to the beauty of nature around her. My paintings draw upon her vivid imagery of plants and flower, skies, which belie a depth of thoughts and feelings about her world and humanity at large. The language of poetry is universal, so to me the feelings and thought about the political and social times she lived in, capture our world at present perfectly.

I have included larger oil canvases, which invoke the beauty of our world, while the smaller paper collages focus on the humanity which exists in joy and grief, hope and despair. My colors and brushstrokes depict the range of human emotions.

A few lines of poetry accompany each painting.