Saira Wasim’s miniature paintings parody wealth and power, particularly focusing on those who suffer political, religious and social injustice. Wasim believes strongly in the power of the image to expose the plight of the weak and oppressed, confronting contentious issues such as ‘honour killings’ of women in Pakistan and the treatment of Iraqi prisoners at Guantanamo Bay by the American military. She draws on imagery of circuses and carnivals, with people represented by animals — innocent victims in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her colour schemes suggest theatre and artifice, posing religious leaders and politicians as circus entertainers, simultaneously ominous and farcical.