Pursuit Curve, 2004
Digital animation, 7 '
Sound: David Abir

The New York-based Pakistani artist Shahzia Sikander works with traditional as well as contemporary techniques: The various miniature painting schools of the Indian subcontinent which she refers to are being deconstructed and reassembled layer by layer. In this manner, she creates a virtual space, which opens up a room for questions of identity. The title of the DVD animation "Pursuit Curve" refers to the mathematical function describing the path that is followed by an object chasing another object. The pursuer, however, will never seize its prey on the curve of pursuit. "Pursuit Curve" speaks of a possible different reality that is located outside the post-colonial discourse and theories of modernity dominated by Western institutions.