Meet Umaina Khan
Umaima Khan is a Karachi-based visual artist, graduated from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. Primarily working with acrylics to comment on the way women are looked at, exploring different mediums to critically discuss the female form and gaze. Currently working as an art mentor at AIFD and IVS (CEP Department).
The female body has been represented in art many times, not as a manifestation of a real life subject, but rather as a portrayal of ideals of beauty. My work is based on the generic idea of the feminine form and the repression of the sexual and individual identity of women. Belonging to a family that are quite active and involved in art, I have seen multiple times the use of female figures in generic ways. There was always one body type, color and stylization.
The subject discusses the idea of creating female forms in a similar manner that it diminishes the individual identity of women and creates unrealistic beauty standards.
The nude forms in my work are a translation of female forms in their highly personal state which emphasizes their individuality and self-discovery. The comfort in the exaggerated human postures and bends of these forms conveys the idea of being able to accept one’s own-self and rejecting the desire to be seen as a conventional figure. The paintings challenge the notions of idealized beauty and create more self-reflective forms.
I am using candies and desserts as an inspiration to comment on the idea of looking at female bodies as an object.
What inspired you to pursue a career in the creative field?
Being an artist's child, I grew up in a family where art was routine, thanks to my father's artistic background. Despite my endless interests as a kid, I always felt drawn towards drawing, writing, and painting, i realized I would not want to do anything but paint, which eventually led me to pursue a career in visual arts. I admire my work immensely because it allows me to escape, my canvas works as another universe and it's highly therapeutic
How has your South Asian background influenced your creative work?
I believe that both my South Asian heritage and my hometown Karachi had a significant influence on my practice. My art has always been a reflection of what I saw; initially, the female figures I created were also heavily influenced by the artwork I was exposed to, on the other hand, south asian magazines made me want to change and break the conventional ideals of beauty.
Can you walk us through your creative process from ideation to execution?
My work is very straightforward and simple for viewers to comprehend. The idea behind it is derived from society's perception of women, which I then translate into my own very transparent viewpoint on women, Detaching from the idea of flawless beauty, I create the so-called flawed female bodies.
I challenge the society's strong romanticization of women by discussing male gaze and making female figures in their highly vulnerable state which is inspired by the realities of the female body, far from the fantasy.