Hira Nabi's 'How to Love a Tree' explores forest consciousness and colonial legacies in Pakistan
Hira Nabi, a filmmaker from Pakistan, initiated her project 'How to Love a Tree' in 2019, which delves into the connections between humans and landscapes through diverse media. Her recent three-channel video, 'Wild Encounters' (2023), shot in the pine forests near Murree, features English subtitles, despite the local languages being Pahari and Urdu, reflecting the lingering effects of British colonialism. The video underscores the ongoing colonial legacy, showcasing how infrastructure disrupts natural environments. Nabi seeks to align with the rhythms of the forest while recognizing human interference. This work has been exhibited in the Netherlands and Germany, and will be presented at the Pinchuk Art Centre's Future Generation Art Prize in Kyiv, Ukraine, starting 4 October. Her previous piece, 'All That Perishes at the Edge of Land' (2019), highlights the dangerous conditions at the Gadani shipbreaking yards.
Key facts
- Hira Nabi's project 'How to Love a Tree' began in 2019.
- 'Wild Encounters' (2023) is a three-channel video filmed near Murree, Pakistan.
- Murree was established as a British hill station in the mid-19th century.
- The video uses English subtitles despite local languages Pahari and Urdu.
- Nabi's work has been shown in the Netherlands, Germany, and will be in Kyiv from 4 October.
- 'All That Perishes at the Edge of Land' (2019) documents shipbreaking at Gadani, near Karachi.
- The 2016 Aces tanker explosion at Gadani killed 31 people and injured 58.
- Nabi employs 'critical fabulation' to explore human-nonhuman connections.
Entities
Artists
- Hira Nabi
Institutions
- Pinchuk Art Centre
- Future Generation Art Prize
Locations
- Murree
- Pakistan
- Islamabad
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Ukraine
- Kyiv
- Gadani
- Karachi
- South Korea
- Panama