Untitled 11 (from 'Lahore' series) 2013

Departing from the figure as a central motif in miniature painting, Risham Syed concentrates on empty, in-between spaces around Lahore. Lahore is an ancient city tracing its origins to pre-historic myths, and it has seen many transformations under Turkish, Mughal and British rule. Yet the last 15 years have witnessed increasingly rapid development and growth in Syed’s native city. In acknowledgment of this, Syed’s paintings from her ongoing ‘Lahore’ series focus on the backs of buildings that appear blank, faceless, indeterminate, and will soon disappear. Syed deliberately chooses these spaces as sites to be transformed by impending development and not intended to be seen. They are temporary spaces; by capturing and freezing them in these delicate paintings, Syed frames the space of change.