Shahzia Sikander | Havah…to breathe. Air. Life
Neil Koenig, former BBC Producer/Director and now ideaXme board advisor interviews artist Shahzia Sikander.
Neil Koenig comments:
One aim of the ideaXme platform is to Move the human story forward™. Is that something that art can help with? The artist Shahzia Sikander believes it can: “art is something that we learn to tell stories with. It’s a means, a catalyst, but it also is how you are in pursuit of your own truth or a broader truth” she explains, “but then in that journey, what happens is how you negotiate a place in the world for future generations”. Shahzia Sikander was born in Pakistan and has lived and worked in New York since the 1990s. She has created works in many different forms, from miniatures to animation, sculpture and more. Her first major public art commission, “Havah..to breathe, air, life”, is currently on display in Madison Square Park in the heart of New York City. It includes some dramatic pieces, such as an 18 foot tall sculpture in the centre of the park, and another 8 foot high figure on the roof of a nearby courthouse, where it joins some existing works The show is on view until June 2023, after which it will move on to Houston. In this interview with ideaXme board advisor Neil Koenig, Shahzia Sikander talks about growing up and studying art in Pakistan, her interests in exploring notions of authenticity, assimilation, and “interstitial spaces that are harder to define”, and the role that technology might play in the future development of art.
Shahzia Sikander interview with Neil Koenig
Neil Koenig: [00:00:00] Welcome to ideaXme. Madison Square Park is a green haven in the heart of New York City. And since January 2023, the park and a nearby courthouse have seen the installation of some dramatic public artworks. The show is called Havah …to Breathe, Air, Life, and it is on view in New York until early June 2023. It will then travel to Houston. The pieces on display are the work of the artist Shahzia Sikander.
Shahzia Sikander, Artist
Neil Koenig: [00:00:38] Shahzia, it’s very nice to have you with us. Perhaps we can start by asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
Shahzia Sikander: [00:00:46] Very nice to be here. Thank you for inviting me. I am currently here in New York. I am a visual artist. I have lived in New York since 1997, so I guess I can call myself a New Yorker. I also have family in Pakistan. I grew up in Lahore. I lived there and worked there as a young artist and then came to the US as a young adult. And the work that you were mentioning just now, that’s actually my first major public art project and it’s very exciting for me to have the work in New York City and to be able to create and respond to the city and to participate, especially post-Covid. It is quite an exciting moment.
