The artwork was inspired during 2015's annual Yohsin Lecture at Habib University by Deborah K. Fitzgerald, former Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (SHASS) at MIT, and completed for the course What is Modernity as part of my reflection paper during my freshmen year at Habib University.
Glen C. Law, Music Administration during Transitional Turmoil, Music Educators Journal Vol. 50, No. 1 (Sep. - Oct., 1963), pp. 52-55)
Glen C. Law, Music Administration during Transitional Turmoil, Music Educators Journal Vol. 50, No. 1 (Sep. - Oct., 1963), pp. 52-55)
I tried to show the real chaos and ugliness that hides underneath the veil of capitalistic progress which has swiped Karachi as any other city in the world that serves as an industrial/economic hub. Through a futuristic dystopian Karachi, I’m showing that infinite growth fueled by capital accumulation on a planet of finite resources is unsustainable. The shark of capitalistic development is destroying the city to portray that modernity is hurting you, your culture, your city, your whole planet, and the way you think about yourself and other people. Please see it as a monster and don’t blindly embrace it without thinking about it critically. To tackle that, the city’s institutions have taken the responsibility of creating well-informed individuals with liberal arts and social sciences backgrounds, who are aiming at the shark and trying to take it down. Now the question is, is this awakening enough to help them successfully overthrow the system? One will only find out if we as individuals know that our everyday hero is a person who lives his/her life led by conscious and informed lifestyle choices. Help them achieve their goals, and don't try to destroy them. Because even though they seem to be swimming against the tide, they are rooting for us, for a sustainable living, a more pluralistic Karachi, and for Pakistan.
