Aangan has been curated by Abid Majid and Mariam Majid of Wagging Tongues Productions and is a sculptural installation with ‘Emotional States’ serving as its theme.
London has long been home to a huge South Asian population, some with roots to Pakistan as well as other countries like India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka (to name just a few).
That population is often catered to with the most intriguing events. For instance, Southbank Centre’s Alchemy Festival, based in the UK, highlighted in 2017 Abida Parveen. The year before, Salt Arts - the Karachi based production company - presented RPM (Rounds per Minute), a digital exhibit at the Southbank Centre in London, counting as collaborators Mekaal Hasan, Bilal Sami, True Brew Records (Jamal Rahman), The Kominas, Samya Arif, Dynoman (Haamid Rahim), Slowspin (Zeerak Ahmed), and Natasha Humera Ejaz amongst many more.
Another upcoming event is the London Design Biennale 2018 where Pakistan will be represented alongside countries like Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium and many, many more. As for local representation, a UK-based company called Wagging Tongues is set to launch a Pakistani Pavilion titled ‘Aangan’ (Courtyard) at the upcoming second edition of the event, which is set to take place from 4th to 23rd September 2018 at the Somerset House.
“We are delighted to have been chosen to represent Pakistan’s design at the London Design Biennale this year,” said Majid in a statement. “This sculptural installation occupies one of the most impressive rooms at Somerset House. Over one hundred cotton garments, hand embroidered and hand stitched by female artisans will construct a rising helix to a height of almost 4 metres. Interactive film projections will create an immersive experience for the visitors as they walk around and through the installation. Through the language of design and craft, Aangan will celebrate the pivotal role of women in the textile industry.”
According to a press statement, “Wagging Tongues have collaborated with the Kaarvan Crafts Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering rural women by providing life skills that could prove to be opportunities towards attaining economic and material goods. For Aangan, 60 women from Kaarvan have diligently worked for 2 months, contributing to an installation that will portray a positive and progressive image of the country on the global stage.
As for the rest of it, it will be an immersive experience, and will include film projection alongside computational art and original sound design, having originated to a large extent from Pakistan.
Most of all, the theme – ‘Emotional States’ - is one that connects humanity,” noted one magazine on why it is so important. “The theme has been chosen specifically to provoke a broad interpretation from the contributing countries across the world, and to inspire work that covers a wide spectrum of how design affects every aspect of life, be it day-to-day, individual human emotions – from sadness to anger to joy – to the mood of a community, and on an even larger scale: unrest at country-wide level.”
