About the Mandarjazail Collective
We are a self-initiated group of visual artists from varying creative disciplines. Our collective of architects, graphic designers, textile designers, photographers, filmmakers and fine artists is working together to form a distinct creative voice.
The context: Having graduated from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture not too long ago, many of us often feel somewhat restricted by the ‘real world’ — producing work adulterated by financial concerns rarely fulfils one artistically.
Out of this sense of displacement, that many art school graduates feel when stepping into ‘practical life’, the Mandarjazail Collective was born.
The now 23-artist-strong collective continues to evolve with each new member. At present, this is a group where visual artists can make meaningful connections with other artists and support one another, where they can express themselves, and invest in their art – rather than yield monetary benefit from it.
For many of us ‘Excerpts’ is our first foray into a white cube gallery space — these spaces primarily exhibit works by artists trained as ‘fine artists’. Ultimately, the collective also aims to continue challenging the implicit boundaries between art, design and crafts, and questioning these hierarchies.
This show, we hope, is just a beginning.
Fahad Naveed / Founding member, ‘Excerpts’ core team
Abdul Fateh Saif / Founding member, ‘Excerpts’ core team
Shahzaib Arif Shaikh / Founding member, ‘Excerpts’ core team
Syed Arsal Hasan / Founding member, ‘Excerpts’ core team
Veera Rustomji / ‘Excerpts’ core team
Halima Sadia / ‘Excerpts’ core team
Numair Abbasi / ‘Excerpts’ core team
Shanzay Subzwari / ‘Excerpts’ core team
Haseeb Amjad / Founding member
mandarjazail@gmail.com // facebook.com/MandarjazailCollective
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Brochure Design for the Exhibition by Mandarjazail Collective
“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.”—Mark Twain, Mark Twain’s Own Autobiography
‘Excerpts’ brings together 22 fine artists, architects, graphic designers and textile designers, as they create collaborative works inspired by existing pieces of writing. The ideas being communicated here may not be novel; but as the artists from varying disciplines pair up, they compliment, challenge and reassess their own modes of expression.
The writers become invisible collaborators, with their ideas acting as a bridge between the artists. In the process, the pairs create works that are new, but perhaps entirely familiar at the same time.
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Collaborative Piece for Mandarjazail by Hira Khan & Halima Sadia
you cannot
remain
a
war
between
what you want to say (who you really are)
and
what you should say (who you pretend to be)
your mouth was not designed to eat itself
— split
—Nayyirah Waheed, Split
Statement:
Day-to-day events of our lives trigger moments of inner struggle: the silenced sides of conversations — they are what make up our work. These instances have been iterated through an exchange of letters between the two of us, which have dictated an installation of objects that personify those situations. Working with the material-sensitive approach of a fine artist, and the understanding of type (as an expression of our voices) of a communication designer, the final work is a reflection of our own selves in a few selected situations.
Making and Execution of Moving Type/Type-Animation Projection for the Piece titled 'We need to Talk'
