FREE FROM FEAR DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION COMPETITION

I won 2nd Prize in “Free from Fear” digital illustration poster competition, creating a world where women are free from fear of harassment and violence. It was held at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) Islamabad hosted by OXFAM Pakistan on 11th March 2019. The collection of posters was shortlisted from close to 100 entries received from all over Pakistan's leading art institutions as part of the Free from Fear digital illustration poster competition. The competition was judged by a high-profile panel which included digital artist Shehzil Malik, documentary filmmaker Samar Minallah, and Pakistan’s first female cartoonist Nigar Nazar. The exhibition was further displayed at Alliance De Francis, Karachi.

I have tried to depict layers of concept from my poster. Starting from the one where a young girl is seen doing what appears to be graffiti art on a street wall. We are seeing women painting walls for a change. She is free from fear of being any kind of harassment. The biggest barrier between women going out, doing what they want to is the fear of getting harassed. I have illustrated a world where women are free to go out, perform tasks that no one thought a woman will be able to do. She’s painting a girl who is going to school with books in her hand. I believe education can free women from not only fear but from enclosures like oppression. She will truly know her worth. She will know individual rights and freedom of choice. She will be able to voice her opinions without any kind of fear. The bricks symbolize cage. We are seeing what appears to be broken bricks and painting of the girl overpowering the bricks (cage). Standing firm as if to rise forward towards change. The clenched fists symbolize solidarity, support and strength. In the background, of the teal wall, the word Nidar (fearless) is calligraphed several times. The reason of its repetitiveness is sometimes we all need to be reminded about our fearlessness, it does nothing but strengthen our self believe.