I had the privilege of meeting Naiza Khan during this year’s Lahore Biennale and, despite her packed schedule — including her participation at the Karachi Biennale — I managed to meet with her for a discussion. Our conversation, held in the city of Islamabad, provided valuable insights into her creative process, as well as her thoughts on the evolution of the art scene both in Pakistan and globally.

Khan is internationally recognised, notably as the first Pakistani artist to represent Pakistan at the Venice Biennale (2019). She has also participated in prestigious events such as the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the Shanghai Biennale, the Lahore Biennale and the Cairo International Biennale. Her multidisciplinary practice is rooted in research focused on migration, colonial histories and identity, which informs her exploration of the relationship between geography, power and collective memory.

ART AS A TOOL

Khan sees art as a tool for uncovering unseen infrastructures in society, often challenging dominant historical narratives.

“Art has long been a powerful means of exploring the hidden structures that shape our lives,” she states. Through a mix of drawing, sculpture, archival materials and film, Khan examines how land, bodies and memory intersect, questioning the legacies of colonialism and migration. Her work critiques both the physical and symbolic borders that divide communities, highlighting how these separations are shaped by colonial infrastructures.

Central to Khan’s practice is her engagement with museum collections. She investigates how objects that have travelled across the Indian Ocean — often as part of migration — are re-contextualised or erased in the process. By exploring these narratives, she critiques the colonial histories that continue to shape contemporary migration, power dynamics and the concept of belonging.

Pakistani artist Naiza Khan has been named the 2025 Mittal Institute Distinguished Artist Fellow at Harvard, reflecting her influential role in contemporary art, especially in the fields of migration, borders and cultural heritage

Working between London and Karachi, Khan’s art reflects the complex histories of both cities, shaped by colonialism, migration and post-colonial challenges. Her work delves into how global histories are experienced locally, focusing on how migration, displacement and identity continue to resonate in personal and collective memory. Khan’s practice calls attention to how migration is not just a physical movement but also a movement of memory, culture and identity across time and space.

Khan’s artistic journey began with traditional training in the UK, where she mastered skills such as drawing, painting and printmaking. However, over time, she expanded her approach, exploring new materials and processes that pushed the boundaries of conventional art forms. This experimentation reflects her curiosity and desire to challenge the way images are perceived, often raising critical questions about the structures beneath the surface of everyday life.

FINDING THE ‘INVISIBLE SIGNIFICANCE’

In her work, Khan often engages with archival images and documents, many of which were tools of colonial surveillance. One such example is her photographic work Building Terrain, inspired by a diagram she discovered in a 1960s nautical almanac.

“These seemingly ordinary images,” she explains, “were imbued with an invisible significance, something I felt compelled to unlock.” For Khan, archives are not mere collections of historical data; they possess an “inner life” that can be liberated to reveal hidden histories and new meanings. Her practice is as much about reimagining the past as it is about understanding its impact on the present.

Khan resists the idea of a fixed ‘style’, instead viewing her work as an ongoing exploration. She believes that the use of diverse mediums — whether film, sculpture or drawing — allows her to continuously rethink the role of the artist. In her approach to film, for example, Khan emphasises the temporality of the moving image which, like painting, invites the viewer to pause and consider the meanings that emerge as the image unfolds.

A key example of Khan’s impactful work is Manora Field Notes, created for Pakistan’s inaugural pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale. This project reflects her long-standing engagement with Manora Island, a peninsula located off the harbour of Karachi. Through extensive research, Khan documents the island’s transformation, exploring themes of post-colonial histories, environmental change and displacement. Her observations of the island’s evolving landscape address larger global issues, such as social justice and environmental degradation, making her work relevant to communities across the Global South.

Another ongoing project, Walking in Common, is a series of podcasts that Khan has developed with scholars, artists and activists. This initiative explores mapping, social justice and the lingering effects of colonialism.

Additionally, her mesmerising film Mapping Water, which was presented at the Sharjah Biennale, examines the political and environmental implications of water, highlighting the complex histories and contemporary struggles surrounding this vital resource. A meditation on geographies of London, Karachi and Sharjah, it captures the artist in her studio, where she transposes colonial and other maps on to paper that she inundates with watercolours.

Narrated by the actress Nimra Bucha and set to Haider Rahman’s flute variation on a monsoon raga, the work touches upon the heart of the matter: the mysterious, unknowable part of the cycle, where art — even when underpinned by clear social or ethical commitments — transcends documenting things as they are or proposing new civic possibilities.

CURATING CULTURAL DIALOGUE

Khan is passionate about the role of art in social change, particularly in the context of the Global South. She believes that artists have a vital role in shaping the narratives that inform our collective future. “The most powerful stories in history have been told through images,” she says. “Artists are essential contributors to how we understand and navigate our collective future.” She argues that art not only reflects society but also can also create connections that bridge divides and foster solidarity in the face of urgent global crises.

Khan is excited about the upcoming Harvard Mittal Institute Distinguished Artist Fellowship, viewing it as a unique opportunity to engage with Harvard’s intellectual community. She values the energy of young minds navigating a turbulent world and believes that art creates space for multiple voices to contribute to important discourses.

For Pakistani creatives, Khan advises a deep engagement with their cultural histories while staying attuned to contemporary challenges. “By generating perspectives that are both rooted in the local context and aware of global issues, artists can contribute to a more impactful and meaningful cultural dialogue,” she asserts. As Pakistan faces both environmental and political instability, Khan encourages artists to stay authentic to their roots while addressing pressing global issues.

Khan’s work exemplifies the transformative potential of art. Through her innovative use of diverse mediums and her commitment to addressing colonial legacies, migration and environmental change, she continues to push the boundaries of art and its capacity to shape both local and global conversations.

By unravelling hidden histories and questioning established narratives, Khan invites viewers to reconsider how we understand memory, identity and our place in the world.

The writer is an independent journalist, editor and creative consultant with over 15 years of multi-disciplinary experience. She has written for Architectural Digest, Arab News Pakistan, Vogue Arabia and Harper’s Bazaar

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 29th, 2024