Shahana Rajani’s ‘Lines That World a River’ at Nottingham Contemporary
Shahana Rajani’s exhibition 'Lines That World a River' at Nottingham Contemporary documents Indigenous fisherfolk communities in Pakistan’s Indus River Delta, focusing on their visual practices as counterpoints to colonial mapping. The show features paintings by Ustad Abdul Aziz and Abdul Sattar, a three-channel video installation 'Four Acts of Recovery' (2025), and an animated video by children from Rehri Goth. Rajani’s long-term research with Zahra Malkani through the Karachi LaJamia Project underpins the work. The exhibition includes a seating arrangement mirroring open shrines, and explores themes of sacred geography, talismanic drawing, and ephemeral mark-making.
Key facts
- Exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary titled 'Lines That World a River'.
- Features paintings by Indigenous artists Ustad Abdul Aziz and Abdul Sattar.
- Includes three-channel video 'Four Acts of Recovery' (2025) by Shahana Rajani.
- Video features community healer Fatima Bibi explaining the dot and line as sacred knowledge.
- Collaboration with Zahra Malkani through Karachi LaJamia Project.
- Children from Rehri Goth contributed animations in 'Darya Se Dargah'.
- Seating arrangement inspired by open shrines in the delta.
- Exhibition runs in 2026 at Nottingham Contemporary.
Entities
Artists
- Shahana Rajani
- Ustad Abdul Aziz
- Abdul Sattar
- Fatima Bibi
- Abida Dablo
- Aziza Ahmad
- Zahra Malkani
Institutions
- Nottingham Contemporary
- Karachi LaJamia Project
Locations
- Nottingham
- United Kingdom
- Indus River Delta
- Pakistan
- Karachi
- Rehri Goth
Sources
- Momus —