Illustration
Bari Bojh
“Bari Bojh” (heavy burden) portrays a young girl working on an oversized textile scarf, its patchwork surface representing her lived experiences. The exaggerated scale reflects the emotional and cultural weight she is already learning to carry.
Illustration
Braided Swing
“Braided Swing” explores guidance and maternal understanding through a larger, almost otherworldly figure whose braided hair becomes a swing for a smaller, doll-like girl to hold onto, symbolizing trust, support, and learning.
Illustration
Confined Ornament
“Confined Ornament” highlights how parental care and cultural values, though rooted in love, can become restrictive. A tightly packed bangle stand, symbolizing beauty and tradition, begins to resemble a cage, reflecting how protection and... More
Illustration
Lam’bay Baal
“Lam’bay Baal” (long hair) reflects the experience of navigating beauty standards and expectations in the desi diaspora, revealing both the weight carried and the effort required to maintain them.
Illustration
Lines of Tradition
“Lines of Tradition” celebrates culture and its beauty through the intricate work that defines it, particularly line work. It highlights practices such as henna, kajal, and textile-making, with hands representing each tradition. The composition... More
Illustration
Silhouettes
“Silhouettes” explores identity as fluid and evolving, shaped by different versions of the self over time. Inspired by patchwork textiles, it represents identity as fragments that remain connected rather than as separate entities. Three figures... More
Illustration
Sona
“Sona” (gold, a term of endearment) reflects a child placed on a cultural pedestal, deeply valued yet quietly burdened. A chubby hand weighed down by gold jewellery embodies both affection and expectation, revealing how love can also carry pressure.
Work by
Naemal Afzal aka. Naecreates
Illustration
“'Woven In Between’ explores the experiences of diasporic identity through visual languages of textiles, revealing the ambivalence of cultural placement and the tensions between traditions and...” [More]