Khadim Ali in the prestigious Ocula Magazine

 Khadim Ali's Invisible Border Expands Tradition

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH INSTITUTE OF MODERN ART, BRISBANE
Source: Ocula 

In Conversation with

Liz Nowell

Brisbane, 20 May 2021

Khadim Ali. Courtesy Institute of Modern Art. Photo: Rhett Hammerton

Graduating from the National College of Arts in Lahore in 2003, 

Khadim Ali's practice initially focused on traditional miniature painting before 

expanding in media and scale.

Born in Quetta, Pakistan, and now based in Sydney, the artist's practice has attracted global acclaim for works that explore life in exile. At the Institute of Modern Art (IMA), the artist's exhibition Invisible Border (10 April–5 June 2021) is his largest in Australia to date, and explores the normalisation of war and the experiences of refugees through a phenomenal body of work, including the nine-metre-long tapestry Invisible Border 1 (2021), hand-woven by a community of Hazara men and women.

Khadim Ali, Invisible Border I (2020) (detail). Hand and machine embroidered, stitched and dye ink on fabric. 291 x 265 cm. Collection: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Photo: Marc Pricop.

Ali's interest in tapestries developed soon after his parents' house in Quetta was destroyed by a car bomb. Amongst the rubble and debris that was left over, a collection of rugs remained perfectly intact, miraculously able to withstand the terror that was reigned upon the community. In this new large-scale tapestry work and the other work in this exhibition, Ali explores the impact of war, trauma, and displacement, drawing parallels from the book of The Shahnameh, Persian literature, current politics, and a whole range of sources, which he discusses in this conversation.

Khadim Ali, Invisible Border 1 (2020). Acrylic paint and dye, hand and machine embroidery stitched on fabric. 210 x 900 cm. Collection: Sharjah Art Foundation. Exhibition view: Invisible Border, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (10 April–5 June 2021). Courtesy Institute of Modern Art. Photo: Marc Pricop.