rimordial. Atavistic. Nebulous. Feral. Creatural. Kinetic.

These were the first words that came to mind when I visited Sahyr Sayed’s studio ahead of the opening of her solo show, A forgotten gesture, an additional act, at the White Wall Gallery in Lahore. Walking around her studio and seeing the works in an intimate setting created an affinity that is often difficult to achieve in a white cube space. The words arrived in my head one after the other instinctually, like children’s word association games. I thought that perhaps it was the close proximity to the work that prompted this experience, but going to the opening night on January 24, a familiar wave of emotions washed over me; the same ideas came back with greater force.

A forgotten gesture… while focused on the artist’s usual preoccupation with the domestic hoard, goes deeper. The hoard has been an extension of her personal self in her practice, depicting the paraphernalia of life, especially as a woman in defined (and confined) domestic spaces. In this show, however, the hoard acts as a refuge, a safe space, to play with childlike abandon.

The show evokes memories of mark-making as children and, at times, something even more ancient, more primal – mark-making on walls by cave dwellers.

Sayed collects these raw emotions and spills them onto her canvasses with a feral tenderness, in a melange of mixed media ranging from collages made of stickers and paper cutouts to dried marigolds, spinach, roses and leaves. There are even plastic doilies whose recognisable lace patterns place the work in a nostalgic context. Places were/are not with the grid like base and On Longing with a depiction of a house are elevated collages bringing to mind scribbles and etchings born of daydreaming.

Even the surfaces are not always traditional canvasses – there are boards that can be anything found in the storage room of an old home, forgotten in dark corners. Sayed’s choice of material effectively becomes a ‘microcosm of her concerns’* and highlights her ‘nuanced appreciation’* of hoarded objects and their ‘future potential.’*

Nowhere is the domestic hoard more prominent than in Invented Nostalgia (a box delicately adorned with commonplace domestic objects), which was my initial introduction to Sayed’s work a few years ago. I was reminded of my own childhood treasure boxes that are stored safely to this day.

Interestingly, this time the sculptural piece was not stood upright, rather laid out horizontally, at a height and angle that made peering inside not only easy, but an intimate act. Looking at it was akin to glimpsing the most private parts of someone’s life.

A standout piece for me was Dream and Responsibility. I remember being entranced by it at her studio (at the time, it was a work in progress). Hanging at the gallery in its final form, Dream drew me in even further. Mark-making and references to primordial forms abound. It could be a map of a fantasy land drawn by someone reconnecting with their inner child, trying to find themselves again, or it could be an amoebic soup from which creatures will eventually emerge. There’s an urgency and energy felt viewing this canvas, which is also echoed in Mothering Runnels and Returns. It appears that the artist is creating a different hoard, one where memories can be kept safely as she embarks on a new journey.

At this point in her career, we would expect a solo to show a grand evolution, one that symbolises cutting the proverbial umbilical cord to her previous work. However, Sayed not only holds on to this cord with force but also takes us into her cocoon. The show is, therefore, not the culminating point of a metamorphosis, but takes place inside a chrysalis. We witness work being created as a fully embodied, intuitive self. This is as unsettling as it is exciting, making for a remarkable collection of pieces, where we are privy to an artist’s inner foundry.

A forgotten gesture… could perhaps be a watershed moment for Sayed as she becomes more sure of herself and continues to produce work that is fully embodied and gives no quarter to anyone else’s sensibility. It is raw, powerful, provocative and full of contained feminine rage and desire that is currently gestating under the surface turned inwards – we can only imagine how glorious it will be when it manifests outwardly.

A solo show is a momentous occasion for any artist as they are able to showcase their body of work unfettered by the constrictions of a group show. Simultaneously, a solo is also a daunting task for the same reason – it requires the artist to be vulnerable (and prepared) enough to share a coherent body of work that stands on its own. It is similar to an opera singer stepping on stage for an aria, or a writer publishing a novel. There is no safety cushion—you and your work are up for everyone to view, engage with and critique.

Sahyr has presented an arresting body of work that is a glimpse into a new direction where she is creating uninhibited by custom or expectations, either from society or, perhaps more importantly, herself.

*– From Madyha Leghari’s companion essay to the show.

A forgotten gesture, an additional act by Sahyr Sayed, is on till February 16, 2025, at the White Wall Gallery in Lahore

The writer is a literary editor, publisher and photographer from Lahore. He is co-founder of The Peepul Press and managing eEditor at The Aleph Review.