These are “Pluralist Portraits.” After the “50 Years of Migration” exhibition, a crowdsourced community project that toured across Canada after debuting at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, I recycled some of the panels into a series of painted portraits of Canadian Ismaili Muslims.
There are three 1-minute videos below along with some images of the process.
This is a portrait of Naheed Nenshi.
This portrait of Naheed Nenshi – 36 x 66 inches – features remixed images from his political career on top of panels from this project. Special thanks to Noordin Karmali for arranging to transport the panels to me after the cross-country tour, to the entire team who contributed to and implemented the project, and to my parents who immigrated to Canada in the 1970s for a better life.
This is a portrait of Zainub Verjee.
This portrait of Zainub Verjee – 36 x 66 inches – features remixed images from her storied career, layered on top of panels from this project. A Member of the Order of Canada, “she has shaped policy and legislation on issues pertaining to intellectual property, trade, cultural planning, artist labour and income.”
This is a portrait of Senator Mobina Jaffer.
This portrait of Senator Mobina Jaffer – 36 x 66 inches – features remixed images from her decades of public service, layered on top of a timeline panel from this project. Senator Mobina settled in Vancouver, along with my parents, in the seventies. She is both an impressive mind and a lovely person.
These are some images of the creation process, starting with the initial exhibition at the Age Khan Museum.
I acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Public funding makes my art possible, and for that, I am immensely grateful.
