Lujáne Vaqar Pagganwala

About

Lujane Pagganwala (b. 1997, Karachi, Pakistan) is a multidisciplinary artist investigating the phenomenology of space; specifically intangible spaces. Her ultimate aim is to demonstrate three levels of space within the work; physical, experienced and imagined. In an attempt to comprehend such ergonomics, she finds herself drifting in a virtual abyss. Pagganwala explores abstract existences on multiple spatio-temporal planes at once, as well as our omnipresent transience through these spaces. “How might one elucidate the study of Entanglement within and in relation to the discourse of the Self?”

These are spaces of becoming. Existences on ‘exilic grounds’ as Heidegger explains. In her body of work, Pagganwala refers to these as ‘flash spaces’. The complex nature of these concepts sway her to regress back to childhood, to revisit the first and most rudimentary forms of spaces/structures/towers known to herself. The spaces she creates are invariably also inspired by her city’s (Karachi) architecture. In an increasingly post-structural world, these spaces act as a hybrid between childhood and the city. Drawing a parallel between the intangible and the tangible, wherein one space decodes the other.

One to two & two in all
Two save one
Is one after all

In a constant oscillation between the making and exhibiting of a work, Pagganwala has recognized; harnessing the element of naivety is key in her practice. A process permeating through the ideation and making, till the interpreting and experiencing of the work. She tends to suggest just enough to not taint the dialogue a viewer has with the work. In doing so, Pagganwala encourages the audience to manifest ideas and make connections, before she contributes to them herself. The process in reversal makes profound the layering of experience into an ever-lasting loop of curiosities and shared narratives. A co-existence of amalgamated energies in flux – a Flash Space.

Spatial consciousness gives way to an undulating parachronism
And we were left
As was the uncracking paint
On walls built for surrender
The voyeurism plagued by the curtain

The work is an exploration of concepts such as Liminality, Hauntology, Entanglement, and (Non)structuralism amongst many more. Pagganwala creates interactive and confrontational experiences for the audience, thereby democratizing the way art is experienced.

It is a mobile practice, forever in transience and forever curious.