Aisha Khalid’s expressive and rigorous geometric arrangements play with surface and depth, focusing thematically on inequalities experienced in patriarchal societies. Veiled figures, flower motifs, draped curtains, and a limited palette of blue, white and red, appear in symmetrical arrangements drawn from textile patterns and Islamic geometry. Having graduated from the National College of Art, Khalid undertook a residency in the Netherlands that was interrupted by the terrorist attack of 11 September 2001, and where her experience of Amsterdam’s red-light district led her to question her expectations of gender equality in the West. Dutch drapery, tulips and Delft-blue roses figure prominently in the works, which are marked by their two-part structure, with each side closed off in response to the divisiveness of world events.