User:Linaamin456/Shahzia Sikander

Performance art and installations
Sikander places a strong emphasis on feminist messaging in her artwork, often using it as an avenue to initiate discussions surrounding religion and politics. As a muslim woman living in New York in the midst of the aftermath of 9/11, Sikander made note of the growing interest in middle eastern women and islam in the west through her art. In Pleasure Pillars, Sikander makes a clear reference to the destruction of the twin towers in 2001 as the women in the painting are depicted shooting beams and creating explosions. Throughout her portfolio, she depicts women with incomplete bodies and mythological features, such as horns. This can also be seen in her mural, The Perennial Gaze, in which the woman is embraced by a gold, androgynous, headless body. Sikander utilizes the human body to push the boundaries between what is praised as masculine and feminine, highlighting the sensual qualities of the female form and how it is often overshadowed.

In 2023, Sikander was commissioned to create a statue for Madison Square in New York. In this installation, a statue of a golden armless floating woman with ram horns is held up by a skirt covered in a mosaic. This installation,  “Havah ... .to breathe air, life,” received a mixture of praise and criticism from viewers as the United States continues to be in a legislative battle on women’s reproductive rights, specifically abortion rights. This sculpture is interpreted to be in conversation to female reproductive rights from the title. Havah has two meanings, in Urdu it translates to air or Eve. Coupled with the allusions of the woman’s body connected to nature, many viewers interpret the sculpture in relation to female reproduction as the female body is understood as the vessel of human life. In an interview Sikander refers to Eve as “the first law breaker,” though she shares no clear political affiliation or opinions on the topic in particular. Rather, Sikander created the sculpture to start a conversation and have the meaning reveal itself, as she explains she “thrive[es] on hearing what happens over time.”