to Him we will return: Aaliah Qureshi

July 11 - 13

Closing event & poetry reading
Sat 13 July
6 - 8pm

Free & open to all

Photographic series Dust to Dust and accompanying poem An Ode to the Mu’allaqat forms this new body of work to Him we will return by Aaliah Qureshi. It navigates the caste system from a British-Pakistani perspective, centring around the Urdu phrase – sirf ek zaat hai – often heard during the artist’s upbringing and is a common refrain amongst Pakistani diaspora today.

Meaning ‘there is only one spirit’ in the founding vision of a non-discriminatory Pakistan and many Hadiths (religious texts), the word ‘spirit’ within the phrase is also translated in Urdu as ‘caste’, surfacing the difficult space between religious belief, inherited egalitarian ideals and social inequity. Transcribed on a piece of fabric by the artist, the repetition of this idea is set against different places: enveloping a figure and draped in a recognisably British landscape.

Documentation images credit: James Clarkson.

Aaliah Qureshi is a multidisciplinary artist who explores the dichotomous nature of her identity as a British Pakistani Muslim. Through the implementation of storytelling, she finds a balance between her culture and religious beliefs. Aaliah utilises photography as a central medium, whilst incorporating poetry and sound, as well as tangible elements, such as objects and fabric, in order to further explore her lineage, familial relationships and Islamic philosophies. She aims to create work that both represents and resonates with fellow Muslims.

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