Afloat

Artist Shahzia Sikander (Pakistani, born 1969)

Publisher Diane Villani Editions

Place of OriginBrooklyn, New York

Date2001

Dimensions(Sheet) H: 34 5/8 in. (87.9 cm); W: 23 15/16 in. (60.8 cm)

MediumScreen print on Thai Mulberry paper.

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineCarl B. Spitzer Fund

Object number

2004.72

Not on View

Label TextShahzia Sikander expands Indo-Persian miniature painting—elaborate decorative painting that flourished under Muslim rule from the 1500s to the 1800s—by integrating a range of global references and interpersonal themes. On working in this painterly tradition, Sikander wrote, “I found it ripe with potential—to change its status and its narratives and to deconstruct its stereotypes. I recognized… a path to expanding the medium from within, embracing the complexities of craft and rigor in order to open up possibilities for dialogue.” Throughout her practice, she explores gender roles, cultural identities, and colonial and postcolonial histories. Afloat consists of silhouetted forms of a palm tree and two female figures that seem to “float” in delicate layers of translucent tissue paper that simultaneously veil and reveal shapes. The artist has related her female figures to a hybrid goddess archetype inspired by many-armed Hindu deities like Durga and Kali, as well as Western fairytale characters like Rapunzel and Cinderella. These figures embody the cultural contradictions and similarities that fascinate Sikander while potentially creating new, multifaceted archetypes that cross cultural, geographical, and temporal boundaries.