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Anti anxiety.

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being a female means needing to see 10 different doctors to get a proper diagnosis because they always think you’re exaggerating and/or lying

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Mughal Princesses (1967) by Abdur Rahman Chughtai.

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Janelle Monae attends the 2018 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

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What is currently happening in the United States is appalling, shameful, and disgusting. It is racism and fascism to separate families of colour and in doing so, deeply traumatize children. But as Canadians, we need to remember that Canada has been and is complicit in this type of violence. Canada also has a legacy of separating families. The last residential school in Canada closed in 1996. Indigenous children were ripped from their homes, abused, and forcibly assimilated in residential schools which has, in turn, created a intergenerational legacy of trauma that affects Indigenous communities to this day. This colonial legacy has created poverty, addiction, and violence in Indigenous communities which leads to more children being taken from homes and put into foster care. What’s more, Canada has its own immigration detention centres and its own xenophobia to address. There needs to be justice for all families everywhere. People are not illegal. Cultures are not illegal. Families deserve freedom.

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I had to stop watching this TED talk because of this real ass comment 😩🙌🏾

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While in Karachi this month, I reached out to the amazing people at @pakistanchowkcc to see if we could make some art together. Visiting the chowk and hearing about its journey so far in transforming the way people interact in this historic part of the city is fascinating. From a junk site, the chowk was renovated to become a space where people gather, events are held, art classes are taught by artists from the neighborhood. I thought to paint an image based on how we shape our city and how in turn we are shaped by it. (And of course) I wanted to draw a woman walking in the city- something so normal but still not often seen around these parts. While I sat painting at the chowk, a crowd slowly began to gather and one by one, egging each other on, they started joining in. Before I knew it, all these men and boys were painting an image of a giant woman! The final image became an ode to the woman as a nurturer; shaping her surroundings and taking us all along with her. I was unsure of what the painting would ultimately look like, but the fun in painting with everyone far surpassed my nerves! 

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The “Saptamatrikas” (Seven Mothers) are a group of goddesses depicted together & worshipped as the source of power (shakti) to several major deities. They helped originate the concept of feminine creative power and are known for being goddesses of war and emancipation. They aide in the fight against evil and are known for their inauspicious qualities. The Matrikas series reimagines these goddesses in the modern world, with an emphasis on fashion. 

From top to bottom:

1. “Kaumari”: Goddess of war. She rides a peacock and is shown with 4 arms holding various objects such as a bow, spear, axe, and coins.

2. “Maheshwari”: Maheshwari rides a bull & represents the power of transformation.

3. “Vaishnavi”: Goddess of protection & restoration. She is seen riding an eagle with hands in the Varada mudra position (lower right hand). This hand position is the “blessings” hand gesture.

4. “Chamunda”: Chamunda is the power of goddess Chandi. She is said to be ferocious by nature and inaccessible because of her anger. She hates evil doers and slays them without mercy. Often associated with Kali ma, you can think of her as Kali’s lesser known little sister. 

5. “Varahi”: Preserver of the Earth. She’s depicted with a boar’s head, sometimes carrying land on her tusks. She grants boons and is a regent of the Northern direction. She can also be associated as a goddess of death who rides a buffalo.

6. “Brahmani”: Goddess of creation. She’s depicted with 4 heads (like lord Brahma), yellow in color, and rides on a swan as her vehicle of choice. 

 More behind the series on Instagram | print enquiries: nehak64@yahoo.com

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“Anam”

Often in public spaces we find men lounging around, owning their space, watching you go by unabashedly. This time I wanted to do the reverse- a woman sitting outside (in what is largely considered an improper posture) listening to music, staring back at you unperturbed. A flower hangs from her mouth in true Casanova fashion, and she asks, ‘What are you looking at?”

From VIDA X Shehzil Malik. See the full collection here.

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Rajshree in Grahasti (1963)

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Minimalism Is For Brown Girls

I’ve been feeling overwhelmed with the sheer volume of stuff that I own, and I want to minimize and simplify my consumption habits. 

I read Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, a few years ago, and that helped to set the wheels in motion. 

My quest for minimalism, simplicity, and organization has really heightened in the last few months, possibly because of the increasing pressures of school and other things. All of my excess stuff just seemed to become more salient to me during this time. 

To help guide my quest, I tried to get guidance from bloggers and lifestyle folks. I tried following a few minimalist YouTubers, like Jenny Mustard, and I listened to exactly 0.5 (half) of a podcast by The Minimalists, but there is just this disconnect that I cannot seem to bridge.

Most minimalist bloggers that I’ve found are white and/or men (and definitely western), and I honestly cannot relate. Like just because I want to declutter and simplify my life, doesn’t mean that can live in a bare apartment with white walls. Similarly, makeup and accessories are important to me, I don’t want to dress in neutrals, and I don’t want to be preached to about “slow” living.

I want to still feel like myself - which is a vibrant, colourful, fashionable, chubby, unapologetically ethnic, Pakistani, woman, artist, designer - and I don’t know how to be all of those things and a minimalist. So much of minimalism is stripping away stuff, and that always seems to manifest as being a skinny white hipster. Which I am not. I cannot and will not strip away a lot of myself, because some stuff is important. Figuring out a balance between being simple and including all of my complexities is challenging.

Anyway, I am trying to figure it out. If you’re interested in following me while I try, then I’ll be posting updates here and on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/wearivebeen.

How have you made minimalism work for you?

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!!!!!!!!!!

Cellulite is a female secondary sex characteristic and should be celebrated as a rite of womanhood, not despised or eradicated.

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I’m soon launching a new collaboration based on what I love drawing most- South Asian women and South Asian patterns! <3 Here’s to the beautiful brown women I see around me living with dignity and love!

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Rekha for Cine Blitz, photo taken by Girish Shukla.