BIOGRAPHY

Serene Aneeq (born 1997) is a visual artist based in Islamabad, Pakistan. In 2021, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Beaconhouse National University in Lahore. She graduated with an honors and a gold medal. Serene is the recipient of USEFP's Global UGRAD Fellowship and Alumni grant. She is the co-founder of Safar-e-Funoon: an online art history platform. She has recently started her own jewelry brand ‘Cavern Collection,’ consisting of handmade wearable art pieces.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work focuses on reconnecting with the land in the postcolonial era, where the relationship has been damaged through power dominance over the years. I look into patriarchal forms of dominance that make us see other species (plants and animals) as inferior and to be controlled rather than as a relationship of mutual reciprocity. A recurring motif in my work is depicting caves as a metaphor for the womb. Climate change is deteriorating women's health and future generations being born by extension.

Her works have been exhibited at renowned creative platforms nationwide, including Metaverse Bodies (2023) at the Lahore Digital Festival, 18th Emerging Talent (2023) at VM Art Gallery, An Eye For Beauty (2023) PK Art Collective, You Do You (2022) at Dominion Gallery, Broadcast Vol. II (2022) at O Art Space and Improvising Rhetoric(s) (2021) at Roadside Art.

Ink drawing of an ancient banyan tree intertwined with aerial roots
Ink drawing of an ancient banyan tree intertwined with aerial roots

My practice explores questions regarding the state of the relationship between human beings and their natural environments, and how we can move on to the path of healing. Do you love the earth? Do you think the earth loves you back? These are basic questions that are instinctively felt in childhood but are easily forgotten with the passage of time and with the gaining of power. My work explores regaining that childlike wonder and curiosity about the natural world.

Cross-section of a mountain revealing textures of landforms
Cross-section of a mountain revealing textures of landforms

My practice explores questions regarding the state of this relationship and how we can move on to the path of healing. Do you love the earth? Do you think the earth loves you back? These are basic questions that are instinctively felt in childhood but are easily forgotten with the passage of time and with the gaining of power. My work explores regaining that childlike wonder and curiosity about the natural world.

Ink and watercolor artwork of a waterfall surrounded by rocks
Ink and watercolor artwork of a waterfall surrounded by rocks

Serene Aneeq (born 1997) is a visual artist based in Islamabad, Pakistan. In 2021, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Beaconhouse National University in Lahore. She graduated with an honors and a gold medal. Serene is the recipient of USEFP's Global UGRAD Fellowship and Alumni grant. She is the co-founder of Safar-e-Funoon: an online art history platform. She has recently started her own jewelry brand ‘Cavern Collection,’ consisting of handmade wearable art pieces.

Her works have been exhibited at renowned creative platforms nationwide, including Metaverse Bodies (2023) at the Lahore Digital Festival, 18th Emerging Talent (2023) at VM Art Gallery, An Eye For Beauty (2023) PK Art Collective, You Do You (2022) at Dominion Gallery, Broadcast Vol. II (2022) at O Art Space and Improvising Rhetoric(s) (2021) at Roadside Art.

My work focuses on reconnecting with the land in the postcolonial era, where the relationship has been damaged through power dominance over the years. I look into patriarchal forms of dominance that make us see other species (plants and animals) as inferior and to be controlled rather than as a relationship of mutual reciprocity. A recurring motif in my work is depicting caves as a metaphor for the womb. Climate change is deteriorating women's health and future generations being born by extension.

My practice explores questions regarding the state of the relationship between human beings and their natural environments, and how we can move on to the path of healing. Do you love the earth? Do you think the earth loves you back? These are basic questions that are instinctively felt in childhood but are easily forgotten with the passage of time and with the gaining of power. My work explores regaining that childlike wonder and curiosity about the natural world.