KARACHI – Trained as a sculptor, Ruby Chishti works with the detritus of daily life: straw, cotton wool, plastic bags, fabric and old newspapers. In her works, she has extended this focus on the domestic by moulding a series of sculptural objects from feminine sanitary napkins and stockings. Her often-limp figures of crows, buffaloes and humans are stuffed, cast and stitched to create narratives of dignified pathos and gentle sadness. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Lahore’s National College of Arts and currently lives and works in California.
Her international exhibitions include ‘Moving Ahead’ at Islamabad’s National Art Gallery; ‘Feats of Clay’ at California (USA)’s Lincoln Arts and Cultural Foundation; ‘Threads, Dreams, Desires’ at Preston (UK)’s Harris Museum; and ‘Sangam’ at Manchester (UK)’s Urbis. Her works are also in the collections of the Museum of Childhood, London; the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; the Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi; and the Maritime Museum, Karachi. Photos courtesy VASL Art
Creating art with detritus of daily life
