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Arzoo Azad

Arzoo Azad, born and brought up in Karachi, Pakistan, is a visual artist. She completed her Bachelor's of Fine Art from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (batch of 2019), where she did a double major in Painting and Printmaking. Following her Bachelor's, she completed her master's degree in Print from the Royal College of Art (RCA), batch of 2023. Arzoo's artistic practice is deeply personal and rooted in her own lived experiences.

Arzoo has showcased her works in numerous group exhibitions locally and internationally including Pakistan, Venice, Rome, India, and London. She attended an art residency in 2020 at the School of Visual Arts, New York. She was also selected to attend an artist residency at the World of Co., Sofia, Bulgaria. She was shortlisted for the Anna Molka Award 2021. She recently exhibited her work at the Bainbridge Open 2023 Print exhibition, CANVAS International Art Fair and her work is selected to be exhibited at the Woolwich Contemporary Art Fair 2023. Her work has also been featured in the Women United Art MAGAZINE | Issue IV Summer 2023.

Headshot

My artistic practice is deeply personal and rooted in my own lived experiences. I focus on drawing inspiration from the challenges and complexities I have encountered which enables me to infuse my work with authenticity, empathy, and a profound connection to the subject matter. Through my practice, I seek to channel my own emotions, observations, and insights into thought-provoking and evocative pieces that others who have shared similar experiences can resonate with. My artistic approach is rooted in the belief that art possesses a transformative power capable of evoking emotions, challenging perceptions and societal norms, inspiring change, raising awareness, and initiating conversations.   

Currently, I am working with shared female experiences in South Asian Societies, while thinking about the power dynamics in relation to gendered violence/abuse, the male gaze, and the generational practices (curses as I like to call them) in South Asian societies that support and strengthen patriarchal structures. These generational 'curses' are 'bestowed' upon us by our ancestors, and reinforced through gender roles and patriarchal structures that romanticize the suffering and oppression of women in societies. My practice is a commentary on these gender-biased, unhealthy structures and the sad reality of South Asian societies that strip women of their rights, identity, and sense of security.  

By harnessing my practice, I endeavor to make meaningful contributions toward addressing these important social issues and hope to encourage South Asian societies to prioritize women's well-being and rights as a human. Through my visuals, I aspire to be able to dismantle patriarchal structures and aid women to change and reclaim their own narratives, identity, and body.  

My practice consists of using found imagery or first-hand photographs, which I photomontage digitally and play with the visual until satisfied. I then further transform it from digital medium to analog techniques. By using found imagery, as mentioned above, I am trying to comment and hopefully change the narratives for women that aided this mistreatment, dehumanization, and objectification of women. My visuals are sometimes based on a narrative approach, addressing different issues and examples of shared female experiences. To comment on the suppression of women, I sometimes resort to humor and sarcasm by either physically reversing the roles, or by literally putting women in the position of subjugation and positions that are imposed on women in South Asian societies. My visuals are intentionally literal to capture a true depiction of a woman's reality in South Asian societies, which can be disturbing. I have a direct visual language to raise awareness and evoke understanding and empathy.

Gaze

Medium:

Photo etching

Size:

45 x 34 cm
Birth of Venus Covered in Veil

Medium:

Lithography (CMYK)

Size:

112 x 76 cm
Statue of Liberty covered in a fabric

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David surrounded with ladies in Abaya

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David covered in insects and surrounded with ladies
Veiled Lady
Lady in abaya
Photo montage