Search the Collection, 2016

In this current series of drawings, Hasnat Mehmood explores the ongoing impact of colonialism.One of the eventual results of colonialism has been that the art and jewels, among other cultural artifacts from the empire have been transplanted to museums in the United States and Europe. 

Paintings that were part of illuminated manuscripts made in Islamic and Hindu kingdoms that ruled South Asia in the past are now part of the collections at institutions like the Victoria & Albert Museum. Hasnat has copied some of these artworks to draw attention to this phenomenon by employing the kind of technique used in making paintings in the royal courts, including a circular stroke. 

In some of the works on display, the artist explores other effects of colonialism as well. For a group of drawings, he appropriated a document from the colonial British days that shows the profile of a British king; above it states India postage. A marking was added to the stamp that says “Pakistan” or “Bahrain.” The stamps are from the early days of independence from the British. At this point in history, the newly formed nations had not established an infrastructure for so many of the functions that a society requires. The postage stamp that he copied is a found object that explains what happened during colonialism and after. The British kings collected and kept control of so many territories under its vast empire. Meanwhile, queens also benefited from these conquests by donning crowns decorated with precious jewels from the colonies.

These works are part of a larger series that Hasnat has been working on since 2010 entitled Made In Pakistan/India/Sri Lanka/…The series considers the phenomenon in which multinational companies have their products made in developing nations in order to benefit from cheaper labor. The labor, in turn, depends on the companies for their livelihood. It is a system of dependence similar to what happened during the time of colonialism.Therefore, the artist draws parallels between history and current events.

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Atteqa Ali