Textiles and Surface Design (BA Hons) portfolio

As an older British Pakistani Muslim woman I have never felt there is a space for me in the art world. However, as a consequence of my (BA Hons) portfolio in 2016 I was independently awarded the University of Bolton Graduate Award by The Quilters’ Guild in recognition of my contemporary take on English paper piecing. This graduate award was part of a pilot project between The Guild and the University of Bolton.

My work is focused on fractured memories and moments. Patchwork is a technique associated with memory as traditionally it reuses leftover materials that have emotional significance. I am interested in how moments in nature are so fragile like the setting of the sun or changes in the natural landscape and often unnoticed. I take pictures of nature and digitally print these onto fabric. I use English paper piecing combined with embroidery and embellishment using traditional Pakistani techniques as I feel this forms a narrative of my identity as a British Muslim Pakistani woman.