Gestures Towards Power

Through seven short films, running for just over 48 minutes and spanning the last twenty-five years, this programme opens a window into the storied practice of Karachi-born and Berlin-based artist, Bani Abidi (b. 1971).   

Encompassing filmmaking, photography, and drawing, Abidi unpicks large themes – nationalism, state power, identity politics, and human vulnerability – through bringing attention to the everyday absurdities of ordinary life. She uses humour as a tool for disabling and deflecting power, to tackle subjects as wide-ranging as the competitive jingoism of pop anthems, the psychology of visa waiting rooms and the global circulation of used goods. 

The films will be followed by a conversation between Abidi and Hammad Nasar, Director of Programmes & Content at Ibraaz, who has curated, written on, and thought alongside Abidi’s work for nearly two decades.     

FILMS 

Mangoes 1999 (3:24) 
Two expatriate Pakistani and Indian women sit and eat mangoes together and reminisce about their childhood. An encounter that soon turns in its tone. 

Anthems 2000 (2:42)
A split screen image of two young women–played by the artist–dancing to patriotic Indian and Pakistani songs. 

The News 2001 (2:12)
A mock news broadcast from either side of the Indo/Pak border – a Pakistani and an Indian news presenter relate separate versions of the same news event. 

Shan Pipe Band Learns the Star Spangled Banner 2003 (7:42) 
In November of 2003, the artist commissioned a brass pipe band in Lahore to learn how to play the American National Anthem, a piece that was not a part of their existing repertoire. 

The Distance From Here 2009 (2:13)
A reflection on the psychology of visa waiting rooms, embassy protocols and the nervous anticipation of visa applicants who are hoping to access international travel from cities in South Asia. 

An Unforeseen Situation 2015 (6:52)
A series of orchestrated mass events and spectacular individual feats hosted by the Punjab Ministry of Sports in 2014 during which multiple world records were reportedly broken by Pakistan. 

KM-32 - A Story 2024 (13:00) 
The fixing of an old German food processor in the electronic repair market in Karachi, leads to questions about Western engineering and design, and Pakistan's perpetual role as the beggar of used goods from across the world.