Chawkandi Art

Chawkandi Art Widely recognised as the premier Art Gallery of Pakistan. Chawkandi Art celebrates 25 years of selec

16/05/2026

Last day to see Shoaib Mahmood’s Same As That II. In this body of work Mahmood extends an inquiry first explored in 2022, revisiting its foundational concerns through a nuanced shift in visual and formal language.

Working within the traditional discipline of miniature painting, Mahmood employs the image of a regal figure, an enduring symbol of authority, continuity, and unquestioned hierarchy. Accompanying this figure is the presence of 24-karat gold calligraphy, historically associated with sanctity, reverence, and permanence, yet deliberately rendered in reverse, resisting legibility and suspending its function as a transmitter of meaning.

In the artist’s words, “The act of reversal becomes a metaphor for unexamined adherence: a visual manifestation of how meaning can be obscured beneath layers of ritual, authority, and tradition.”

Shoaib Mahmood’s Same As That II continues through May 16th.

Chawkandi Art Gallery congratulates Waqas Khan on receiving the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan in recog...
15/05/2026

Chawkandi Art Gallery congratulates Waqas Khan on receiving the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan in recognition of his contributions to art and culture.

We are delighted to join the nation in celebrating this well-deserved honour.

Chawkandi Art Gallery congratulates Hamra Abbas on receiving the Sitara-e-Imtiaz. Her internationally acclaimed practice...
15/05/2026

Chawkandi Art Gallery congratulates Hamra Abbas on receiving the Sitara-e-Imtiaz. Her internationally acclaimed practice has brought great distinction to Pakistan and continues to shape the language of contemporary art.

We join the nation in celebrating this well-deserved honour.

Chawkandi Art gallery is delighted to congratulate Waseem Ahmed on receiving the prestigious Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in recognit...
15/05/2026

Chawkandi Art gallery is delighted to congratulate Waseem Ahmed on receiving the prestigious Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts. A truly well-deserved national honour.

Chawkandi Art Gallery congratulates Salima Hashmi on being awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz. We join the country in celebrati...
15/05/2026

Chawkandi Art Gallery congratulates Salima Hashmi on being awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz. We join the country in celebrating a legacy that has inspired generations of artists and profoundly shaped the artistic, educational, and cultural landscape of Pakistan.

In Shoaib Mahmood’s current body of work, Same As That II, he extends an inquiry first explored in 2022, revisiting its ...
14/05/2026

In Shoaib Mahmood’s current body of work, Same As That II, he extends an inquiry first explored in 2022, revisiting its foundational concerns through a nuanced shift in visual and formal language.

Working within the traditional discipline of miniature painting, Mahmood employs the image of a regal figure, an enduring symbol of authority, continuity, and unquestioned hierarchy. Accompanying this figure is the presence of 24-karat gold calligraphy, historically associated with sanctity, reverence, and permanence, yet deliberately rendered in reverse, resisting legibility and suspending its function as a transmitter of meaning.

In the artist’s words, “The act of reversal becomes a metaphor for unexamined adherence: a visual manifestation of how meaning can be obscured beneath layers of ritual, authority, and tradition.”

Shoaib Mahmood’s Same As That II continues through May 16th.

Shoaib Mahmood’s practice examines the intersections of authority, belief, and inherited systems within contemporary pos...
13/05/2026

Shoaib Mahmood’s practice examines the intersections of authority, belief, and inherited systems within contemporary postcolonial experience. A graduate of the NCA’s Miniature Painting department in 2004, Mahmood continues this inquiry in his current body of work, Same As That II, which revisits ideas first explored in a 2022 exhibition.

In the artist’s words, the work marks “a nuanced shift in visual and formal language... (an) ongoing inquiry into the dogmatic structures embedded within inherited belief systems.”

“Working within the traditional discipline of miniature painting, I employ the image of a regal figure, an enduring symbol of authority, continuity, and unquestioned hierarchy. Accompanying this figure is the presence of 24-karat gold calligraphy, a material and visual language historically associated with sanctity, reverence, and permanence. Yet, the calligraphy is deliberately rendered in reverse, resisting legibility and suspending its function as a transmitter of meaning.

“This inversion destabilizes the viewer’s expectation of comprehension, transforming text into an ornamental surface rather than a readable script. Through this gesture, the work reflects on the dogmatic concept of religion, where belief is often inherited, repeated, and preserved without critical engagement. The act of reversal becomes a metaphor for unexamined adherence: a visual manifestation of how meaning can be obscured beneath layers of ritual, authority, and tradition.

“Same As That II operates within this paradox, inviting the viewer to question not belief itself, but the conditions under which belief is accepted, internalized, and perpetuated.”

Shoaib Mahmood’s Same As That II continues through May 16th.

Shoaib Mahmood’s practice engages with the broader condition of a postcolonial society, examining the enduring impact of...
12/05/2026

Shoaib Mahmood’s practice engages with the broader condition of a postcolonial society, examining the enduring impact of Westernization across cultural and intellectual frameworks that continue to shape contemporary experience. In his current body of work, Same As That II, Mahmood extends an inquiry first explored in 2022, revisiting its foundational concerns through a nuanced shift in visual and formal language.

Working within the traditional discipline of miniature painting, Mahmood employs the image of a regal figure, an enduring symbol of authority, continuity, and unquestioned hierarchy. Accompanying this figure is the presence of 24-karat gold calligraphy, historically associated with sanctity, reverence, and permanence, yet deliberately rendered in reverse, resisting legibility and suspending its function as a transmitter of meaning.

In the artist’s words, “The act of reversal becomes a metaphor for unexamined adherence: a visual manifestation of how meaning can be obscured beneath layers of ritual, authority, and tradition.”

Shoaib Mahmood’s Same As That II continues through May 16th.

Shoaib Mahmood graduated with honours in Miniature Painting from the NCA in 2004. His current body of work, Same As That...
11/05/2026

Shoaib Mahmood graduated with honours in Miniature Painting from the NCA in 2004. His current body of work, Same As That II, extends the inquiry from a 2022 exhibition where, in his words, “the foundational idea is revisited and rearticulated through a nuanced shift in visual and formal language... (an) ongoing inquiry into the dogmatic structures embedded within inherited belief systems."

“Working within the traditional discipline of miniature painting, I employ the image of a regal figure, an enduring symbol of authority, continuity, and unquestioned hierarchy. Accompanying this figure is the presence of 24-karat gold calligraphy, a material and visual language historically associated with sanctity, reverence, and permanence. Yet, the calligraphy is deliberately rendered in reverse, resisting legibility and suspending its function as a transmitter of meaning."

“This inversion destabilizes the viewer’s expectation of comprehension, transforming text into an ornamental surface rather than a readable script. Through this gesture, the work reflects on the dogmatic concept of religion, where belief is often inherited, repeated, and preserved without critical engagement. The act of reversal becomes a metaphor for unexamined adherence: a visual manifestation of how meaning can be obscured beneath layers of ritual, authority, and tradition.
Same As That II operates within this paradox, inviting the viewer to question not belief itself, but the conditions under which belief is accepted, internalized, and perpetuated.”

Shoaib Mahmood’s Same As That II continues through May 16th.

Same As That II by Shoaib Mahmood continues at Chawkandi Art Gallery.Extending the inquiry of Same As That I (2022), Mah...
09/05/2026

Same As That II by Shoaib Mahmood continues at Chawkandi Art Gallery.

Extending the inquiry of Same As That I (2022), Mahmood’s body of work revisits its central concerns through a shift in visual language. Using the vocabulary of miniature painting, the artist juxtaposes a regal figure with 24-karat gold calligraphy rendered in reverse. The words resist legibility and thus transform from text into ornament.
“The act of reversal”, according to Mahmood, “becomes a metaphor for unexamined adherence: a visual manifestation of how meaning can be obscured beneath layers of ritual, authority, and tradition.”

Shoaib Mahmood’s Same As That II continues through May 16th.

08/05/2026

“The calligraphy is deliberately rendered in reverse, resisting legibility and suspending its function as a transmitter of meaning.
This inversion destabilizes the viewer’s expectation of comprehension, transforming text into an ornamental surface rather than a readable script.
Through this gesture, the work reflects on the dogmatic concept of religion, where belief is often inherited, repeated, and preserved without critical engagement. The act of reversal becomes a metaphor for unexamined adherence: a visual manifestation of how meaning can be obscured beneath layers of ritual, authority, and tradition.” —Shoaib Mahmood

Shoaib Mahmood’s Same As That II complicates and unsettles, inviting audiences to re consider what it means to believe. The exhibition continues through May 16th.

Address

105, Marine Point, DCI, Kehkashan, Block 9, Clifton
Karachi

Opening Hours

Monday 11:00 - 20:00
Tuesday 11:00 - 20:00
Wednesday 11:00 - 20:00
Thursday 11:00 - 20:00
Friday 11:00 - 20:00
Saturday 11:00 - 20:00

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+922135373582

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