I have always held a passion for art and have been fortunate that early in my life I was mentored by brilliant and generous art educator Nayyar Jamil. Her atelier was a sanctuary for myself and countless others, many of whom are now famous.
In New York City I studied Sumi-e painting with Sensei Koho Yamamoto , a trailblazing artist and survivor of World War 2 internment camps who finally had a career retrospective at the Noguchi museum at the age of 99. She continues to teach privately.
My recent work is a liminal expression, straddling the breath based gestural calligraphic traditions of Japan as well as the script of my native Urdu. Calligraphy in Urdu, Farsi and Arabic has a rich and ancient history and a formal beauty that is unsurpassed. Choosing a brush to render Urdu letters in a looser, gestural style is one of the ways in which I engage with my physical response to the rupture of our times.