ASMA CHAUDHARY

Wearable dress made from black gloves, cotton filling, satin fabric, and black polyester thread

To continue with the idea of wearable objects or items that are personified to display emotions like a human being, I wanted to expand the idea of my cushion made out of gloves. While sewing these by hand, I used to dance around my studio wearing the strand of gloves like a scarf or around my hip like a skirt. By sewing the gloves together in spiral patterns, I was able to create a multi-layered skirt that still has some movement and flow to it. I also attached a series of gloves to form a collar and the neckpiece can close up together with the fingers intertwining—similar to how a Venus flytrap plant opens and closes. I realize women are constantly objectified no matter what they are wearing. In the same moment, this dress also makes a comment about how women in the workplace are often judged as emotional versus being ambitious like their male counterparts.

Repurposed shopping cart and bicycle wrapped in over 10 miles of embroidery yarn, containing rice bags, flour bags, bananas, water, candles, matches, and adorned with miniature elephants, jingle bells, and liberty bells.

Series of photographs of woman running with a large artist-made flag made from green and white silk fabric and features an original couplet spoken and written out in Urdu calligraphy

After of a recent study of impoverished areas in Pakistan, the concept of individual freedom and patriotism came to mind. This version of the Pakistani flag serves as a banner of free expression, which can either flutter in the wind or wrap one’s body as a shawl. This flag project serves as a gentle reminder of the street children who still wave tattered Pakistani flags while their parents protest in the streets crying for a better future. The series of photographs depict a Pakistani Muslim woman running in the fields with the flag, then wearing it as a traditional scarf known as a daputta and then as a full body shawl like a burqah or hijab. She displays emotions of freedom, national pride, and somber reflections.

This flag uses the national colors of Pakistan, which are dark green for the land and white for the purity. These two words symbolize the “land of the pure.” After years of seeing Pakistan in the news headlines for corruption, poverty, and violence, I wanted to memorialize how many innocent citizens are still contributing towards a better future despite the chaos. The rhyming couplet proclaims, “Na bijli, na atta, na paani; Phir bhi dil hai Pakistani,” which translates to “Despite living without electricity, food (flour), or water…our hearts are still Pakistani.” Even though corruption exists and people lack basic necessities, their hope for humanity serves as a true testament of their unwavering faith.

[Special thanks to model Farina Zeb]

Series of polyurethane garden planters, light bulbs, and cords

When drilling out holes in my lamp forms, I realized that so much light can be translated onto the ground as well as against the wall or up towards the ceiling of a room. I personally created a mechanism for a light switch piece to carry an outlet to support another item and continue the circuit. These lamps in this grouping are supporting each other, almost like a family. However, there is one lamp that is the proverbial black sheep and treated like an outcast. The lamp on the outside still faces the others and its open-faced shape resembles a mouthpiece or megaphone but it looks like no one is listening. Even though this occurs, it is still vital for the outcast lamp to speak its mind freely for perhaps there are greater, more important tasks to accomplish despite feeling isolated and forgotten.

Muskegon Museum of Art and Dennos Art Center

Tumare Zindagi Taand Rusti (Urdu for “May Your Existence Be Blessed”)

Perplexity & Centurion
Chairs made out of shopping cart pieces and paint

One of my favorite things to do is to weld metal pieces together. I still remember the first day I saw someone welding outside and it drew me in. I was terrified of the sparks and the heavy-duty gear needed to protect your body and eyes but it was amazing. The smell of the burnt metal and smoke reminds me of the industrial areas of Pakistan. When I decided to start using shopping carts in my furniture pieces, I first recognized the metal parts as welding material and then started thinking of consumerism and waste. All of my shopping carts were either found in abandoned situations far away from their original geographic location or were donated from retailers getting rid of the broken carts. Surprisingly, a cart can cost almost a thousand dollars for each store. I am sure that plastic will become the new metal soon enough. For the second chair, it describes the dynamic between mobility and taking time to rest and recover. The legs are adorned with a shopping cart’s wheels on the back for ease with moving around and rubber stoppers for the front legs to securely stop or park the chair. This chair’s namesake is to memorialize my grandfather’s walker, which we outfitted with tennis balls so that he could easily slide his walker without much pressure. However, I understand this can be exerting for the elderly who need to travel around the home but still want to enjoy a place to sit and rest for a moment.

Two men’s collared dress shirts stitched together to represent two distinct working classes.

Sculpture created of a traditional wooden carriage used for weddings based on a metallic pen and ink drawing

As part of Punjabi wedding traditions, a bride is often carried in and out of a wedding hall to greet her guests and family. A doli, which is also known as a “palanquin” or “palkhi” in mostly Indian and French royal wedding rituals, is typically created out of carved wood, has ornate patterns and four corners that are suspended by bamboo rods so that the bride can be carried on the shoulders of others. The bride sits inside with embroidered pillow cushions and curtain can also provide some privacy to the public’s view. This drawing has now transformed into a fully functional, life-size palanquin adorned with vibrant colors based on Indian and Pakistani sari designs. This doli also features sheer metallic fabric to serve as curtains to truly evoke the persona of a Bollywood wedding scene.

Repurposed kitchen hardware to create helmets and bodies of armour.

Steel rods welded together and stainless steel wire rope to create a functional bed

A "charpai” is typically created with a solid, wood frame and outfitted with woven rags or rope to support the human body. Sometimes charpais can serve as seats during the day and used as beds at night. Their lightweight frame makes it easier for mobility and storage. I remember when I was five years old during a visit to Pakistan where we slept on our own wooden charpais on the rooftop of our family’s home. This is the best way to view the stars above in the open night sky. By using steel, I pay homage to one of Pakistan’s main exports—stainless steel often used in beauty supplies like scissors and tweezers. There are also industrial areas in Pakistan known as “steel towns” where mineworkers and factory laborers often live and create home goods.

Repurposed rice bag pillows to signify expensive couture handbags.

Studio Visit Magazine (Volumes 25, 27, 30, and 31)

Metal washers in various sizes welded together to form a sitting stool.

Two identical mannequin heads facing each other about 4 feet apart

I often think about identity and how as a Muslim who was born here in Virginia, I have so much patriotism as an American. Sometimes I wonder whether people’s attitudes towards me will change once they find out I am a Muslim, if it does not come up during initial conversations. By playing with headscarf designs, which today have become almost like advertisements for designer labels, I wanted to present two identical faces as an experiment. These mannequin heads are situated to my own height. The distance in between them allows the viewer to enter their gaze and look at their faces closer. Although the same, one is identified as nefarious when nothing has changed except our perceptions.

I am inspired by Langston Hughes' poem entitled, “I, Too” for which he writes, "I, Too, sing America…" despite the opinions of others. The poem came to mind when developing the concept for the piece, which led to the selection of materials such as the mannequins, fabrics, and the decision to place the shelf at my height and eye level.