Beyond the Future: Papers from the Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Rei Naito Naito has created enclosed spaces, l ike a big tent, in which very delicate, fragile, hand-made sculptures are installed . Only one person is permitted to stay inside the 'tent' at a time. This privacy permits a d ialogue between the viewer and the small objects, creating moments, which al low viewers to contemplate their inner self and their own spirituality. (translated by Chaco Kato) Papers from the 'Women Artists and Curators' session were commissioned and edited by Anne Kirker (Curator of Prints , Drawings & Photographs, Queensland Art Gallery), with assistance from Robyn Ziebell (Support Officer, Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art). CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE BY PAKISTAN I WOMEN ARTISTS Salima Hashmi I think contemporary practice by Pakistani women artists is still seen against the backdrop of General Zia ul-Haq's military regime and the turn ing point perhaps is February 1 2 , 1 982 when there was a procession of women. Because a law had been passed wh ich banned the assembly of more than four people at a time, women in twos wal ked down the main street of Lahore to present a petition to the Ch ief Justice wh ich was against a law being proposed . This was the law of evidence wh ich would make women's evidence equal to half that of men. This very small procession of only 200 women was very brutally attacked and broken up by pol ice. I should say that there were also some men in the procession . That was real ly the turning point, because the following year in the National Exhibition, Pakistani women artists took time out and wrote a manifesto for women artists . Considering the political situation at that time the manifesto could not be made publ ic, but certainly it brought together women artists who until then , by and large, had been very apolitical in the way that they looked at their own art practice. They were in positions of administrative power in the art education institutions in Pakistan, so they d idn't see themselves as in any way threatened . But I think for the first time they felt, what I suppose the general population was feeling, that while the Pakistan i military regime was repressive for all people, it especially turned its focus on women as far as lawmaking was concerned . Constitutional amendments were being brought in wh ich threatened the status of women and th is included the law of evidence. The matrimonial laws, which were taken d irectly from ancient Koranic traditions, meant that adultery was pun ishable by death . Although according to relig ion there have to be four adult male witnesses to an act of adultery, if a woman brought a case of rape she would also have to produce four adult male witnesses before rape could be proved . And conversely if she did not prove rape then by her own admission she was convicted of adultery. I have to say that a lot of the young women in this demonstration were art s�udents and architecture students from the school where I teach in Lahore. The manifesto for women artists acknowledged : 1 . Firstly, women's contribution to art education in Pakistan and the fact that we held key positions. 2. Secondly, it demanded equality before the law. 3 . Thirdly, i t took notice of the fact that there was a collective feeling among women artists. 4 . Fourthly, i t advocated tolerance for peoples of a l l rel igions with in t he State of Pakistan. 5. Fifthly, it laid out a sort of 'program' or 'agenda' for activity in their art. The first response to that demonstration was urgent and immediate. This is a very early work of m ine in wh ich I have picked up images very directly from various photographs, and this was the beginning; an immed iate response. As time went on, the response changed and became subtler. We will go to Naazish Ataullah. She was looking at the chador and the fact that wh ile the chador was being advocated in Pakistan for women in public l ife who were teachers, who were young students, it had a kind of a double edge. Women then talked about having secret lives behind the chador, and there 44