Dil Phaink

Exhibition Design and Co-curation as part of the PeaceNiche (T2F) collective
Category: exhibition design, research, curation, documentation
Date: May 2015
Location: London
Venue: Southbank Centre UK (as part of Alchemy Festival)
Link: https://dilphaink.tumblr.com/

Curatorial Narrative

Pakistanis of all ages and stripes are victims of internal and external conflict. While there is a great deal of serious discourse around matters of security, foreign policy, terrorism, dynastic politics, and the economy, millennial Pakistanis are responding to the issues that afflict the country in myriad ways.

Hyperactive on social media, this vocal and opinionated generation often demonstrates a carefree, ‘come what may, whatever the consequences’ attitude as a response to a
genuinely dark period in our history. We are creating art, music, theatre, memes and mashups, reacting to a churning cycle of breaking news with a flurry of sharp commentary, on the streets and online. These reactions may not start a revolution, but they can slowly pry away the bricks in the wall, reminding us of the limits we’re testing and slowly pushing against.

Dil Phaink is a celebration of an inimitable spirit of abandon and exuberance, bordering on melodrama. These troubled times and our muddled identities aren’t the problem, they’re the platform: the perfect stage for a nature that tilts towards the flamboyant, the need to wear your heart on your sleeve, take chances, romance the days, write poetry, and be joyous – to be ‘dil phaink’. So we’re throwing our heart out there for you to see.

Artists, graphic designers, typographers, musicians, architects, writers and videographers will come together for this show to create an audiovisual showcase of Pakistani street culture, cult cinema, visual memory and matters of the heart all in one galli (street). The show addresses how we as Pakistanis are responding to what is happening around us and how our humour becomes a refuge for the times when we feel powerless - a silent admission of the absurd logic that sometimes defines how we live and love in Pakistan. In essence, it is ‘a multimedia love letter to the Pakistani spirit’. You’ve read about the blackouts, bombs, burqas and really bad guys – but now we’d like to take you to the nooks and corners of any street, in any city, in any part of Pakistan, so you can hear the many voices that talk (and whisper and shout) after the newspapers have had the last word

Components of the Exhibit

1. Dil Phaink Galli (street) | Substructures within the street:
2. Shutter Down
3. Patari Jukebox
4. Dukhee Deevaar
5. Graffiti Yatra (short film)
6. Yahaan Se Shehr Ko Dekho (Look at the City from Here)
7. Unveiling the Demure Bride of the East
8. Politics: Pakistan's National Sport

This quintessential city street installation emphasizes on both form and content conveying the vibrant spirit and aesthetic of Pakistani street culture and everyday activism. It is conceptualized as a multi-layered and thought-provoking overarching street scene where myriad worlds collide and co-exist, survive and thrive.

The substructures within this street are carefully installed with extensive on-ground research and photographic documentation. Elements of everyday life on any street in Karachi are displayed, the use of shutters to project video material that speak of the ‘Shutter Down’ strikes in the city, comprising of audio-visual stories, music and short films, highlights issue of social and cultural interest. For example Graffti Yatra, documents the journey of late artist Asim Butt’s interventional works, graffiti and stenciled wall chalkings as a result of the political crisis in Swat and other parts of Pakistan. ‘Unveiling the Demure Bride of the East’, a photographic series attempts to reveal the many facets of marriages that are hidden away in ceremonial settings of a traditional wedding. ‘Yahaan Se Shehr Ko Dekho’ (Look at the City from Here) is a visual ethnography of a girl who sets out to map a route from one end of Karachi to the other, hoping to capture the essence of life in the city. ‘Politics: Pakistan's National Sport’ is crowdsourced content taking the form of video montages and projections. Other substructures include ‘Dukhee Deewaar’, an interactive wall calling the love-sick and the eternally heavy-hearted souls. ‘Patari Jukebox’ - Patari website is the only archive of Pakistan's rich, vibrant and extremely diverse music culture.

9. Dil-e-Nadaan

How does our heart respond to the media and how does the media play with our emotions. Dile-e-Nadaan uses the literary tradition of references to the heart and its metaphors in Urdu poetry. The installation comprises of sculptures and lenticular prints to juxtapose with this rich symbol in the context of the media, exploring how it captivates and exploits our hearts for its own purposes.

10. This is Pakistan: Smoke and Mirrors

Welcome to Pakistani politics where nothing is ever as it seems. A curated video timeline that navigates the twists and sharp turns as we travel back to time in 1988 to middle of a desert in Baluchistan where engineers are standing by to recieve the following order from the prime minister: “Dhamaka Kar Dein.” (Explode the bomb)

11. A Suitcase of Cinematic Memories 12. Pyaar Honay De! (Let there be love)

In a rented two room space in a 1960s era building, Guddu saves a collection of ephermera from the glory days of Pakistani cinema in any nooks and cranny he can find. These posters, advertisements, playbills, records and photographs are his life’s work.

13. Deconstruck(t)

The truck is a vibrant symbol of Pakistan’s thriving overland transport industry. A team of calligraphers, spray painters, master decorators and apprentices adorn the trucks. The cover the body of lumbering Bedford trucks with everything from painting of screaming tigers to panoramic views of Kashmir, religious epithets and romantic couplets. The vehicle is also a case study in modern artisan combining traditional skills, lively innovation, religious piety and modern secular motifs.

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