Critical Spaces as Spaces of Discontent

In this article Amra Ali examines the work of Naheed Raza and Mehr Afroze, showing how artists engaged with local concerns are often marginalised by the priorities of the global art circuit. In response to the misrepresentation of non-Western art at Documenta, two essays in Volume 7.2 (2012) — “Critical Spaces as Spaces of Discontent” and “The Incomplete as a Strategy of Misrepresentation”, by Niilofur Farrukh — seek to broaden perspective and provoke dialogue.

Complementing this, Dr Mehjabeen Abidi Habib studies children’s drawings to understand how physical environments shape identity, while Quddus Mirza explores multilingualism in Pakistani contemporary art practice.