Description

This series was inspired by Ambreen Butt’s first visit in more than a decade to Pakistan, her native country. The trip from the United States, her adopted home, coincided with the 2007 siege of Lal Masjid. During that violent conflict, the Pakistani military raided a mosque whose leaders challenged the country’s government, causing widespread injuries and deaths among women and children. Butt often works between media—including drawing, painting, and installation-based projects—and these prints feature an innovative combination of techniques. Butt suggests her cultural heritage through references to miniature painting, including ornately patterned designs that belie the prints’ brutal imagery.