Wardha Shabbir’s paintings begin with close studies of her local environment in Lahore, Pakistan. She carefully documents the city’s common trees, natural vegetation, and gardens where nature is subdued and curated, and is drawn to Lahore’s sharp yellow light, which she uses in her paintings alongside other distinctive tones.

Trained in the disciplined art of miniature painting, Shabbir experiments formally and conceptually beyond the art form’s conventions. Considering her paintings as self-portraits, she abstracts and rearranges the picture plane as a way to investigate spiritual and cognitive space and to create new symbols of femininity and identity. Fences and boundaries stand as metaphors for the boundaries affecting women’s lives, while the garden acts as an extension of anatomy, and delicate flocks of birds reflect freedom and fluidity. The wild shrubbery reflects the struggles women face through the resilience of the proliferating shrubs, and pathways reference the Islamic concept of ‘sirat’ – meaning a path, passage or bridge – to reflect the artist’s own journey as a woman living in Pakistan.

Amoeba-like forms of black holes also appear, developed from studying satellite images of the mouths of volcanoes, as well as considering the energy of ‘Kaali Aag’ — meaning ‘black fire’ and referencing Kali, the Hindu goddess associated with destruction. The black hole is another symbol through which the artist considers women’s bodies, as darkened veils with flowers and plants at their edges.