Syeda Aatika Fatima: Is Someone There?
9th October, 2024 – 17th November, 2024
Mandy Zhang Art
16 Seymour Place
London
W1H 7NG
Mandy Zhang Art is thrilled to present Is Someone There?, the first solo exhibition by Pakistani artist Syeda Aatika Fatima, running from 9th October to 17th November, 2024.
In this exhibition, Fatima combines traditional artistic techniques with futuristic subjects, addressing the ethical complexities of digital surveillance, privacy, and the ubiquitous camera gaze in our tech-driven world.
Fatima’s intricate works blend gouache on wasli, a technique rooted in traditional miniature painting, with provocative depictions of modern life. Her intimate scenes often reveal domestic spaces through open windows and missing walls, inviting viewers to look in from one room to another—uncomfortably aware that the act of watching itself might be invasive. This creates a dynamic tension between classic forms and futuristic themes, reflecting how our private lives are increasingly laid bare in a world shaped by CCTV, social media algorithms, targeted ads, and surveillance technology.
A key influence on Fatima’s work is her personal experience growing up in Pakistan. There, she felt constantly observed, not only by technology but also by her community. This sense of being watched, even in intimate spaces like her bedroom, has created a lasting paranoia and vulnerability. To this day, she keeps her blinds closed, even during the day.
This anxiety is central to the exhibition’s titular piece, Is Someone There?, inspired by Fatima’s experience of mistaking a tree’s shadow for a person lurking outside her window. The work encapsulates the internalized anxiety many of us feel in a world where we are constantly observed, whether by digital or social surveillance. Fatima is also fascinated by how not everyone shares this discomfort, as people’s views on privacy are often shaped by their desire for connection and intimacy. Through her work, she questions what it means to be human in a tech-driven society where social norms are absent.
In A Room with a View, Fatima further examines how these concerns might evolve and what the future of privacy might look like. She envisions a dystopian world where personal control has eroded and surveillance is omnipresent. This large-scale installation, tailored to the site of Mandy Zhang Art, presents several irregularly shaped works that form a jigsaw-like composition, symbolizing attempts to create connections between individuals in isolated, monitored environments. 2084, an interactive work on linen, invites viewers to sit or lie down on the piece, blurring the boundaries between observer and participant even further.
Fatima’s works often reflect the privacy concerns shared by her friends and family, whose stories she translates into art. Using a mix of consensual photographs and imagination, she constructs complex compositions that combine fact and fiction, echoing how social media, editing tools, and camera technology distort reality. These works also explore the psychological state of constant self-surveillance in the modern world.
Visitors will also find Fatima’s works characterized by recurring motifs of architectural spaces. Drawing inspiration from English architecture and landscapes, as well as Pakistani architectural details such as arched windows, she delves into how socio-cultural factors influence the concept of home and the permanence of living spaces.
Syeda Aatika Fatima: Is Someone There? opens on the 9th of October, 2024 until the 17th of November, 2024 at Mandy Zhang Art
©2024 Mandy Zhang Art
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