 Condem Honor Killings 2012 |
 Rejection 2012 |
 Rejection 2012 |
 Rejection 3 2012 |
 Rejection 4 2012 |
Artists Statement
Rejected, 2012 (series of seven paintings)
Saleem's recent work deals with the issue of arranged marriages, where the artist uses her own experiences and has a dialogue with the observer. The series may be considered a self portrait and autobiography, where Rejection tells the story of a girl who is brought to various families as a potential bride. The process itself is a painful one, especially when a young woman is rejected as "not being good enough". Words and critque leave a scar in her psyche. The experiences Saleem dipicts in her works is sadly a common one currently experienced by many young women in Pakistan, and the Middle East.
Saleem integrates traditional patterns, which are used in traditional Mughal and Persian miniature paintings, used to decorate tents and shelter. The same patters are worn by the girl, representing her wish and yearning to find shelter with a potential husband.
Embrossed in many of her works is caligrahy in Urdu. The caligraphy are the words of rejection said to the potential bride, a branding iron that where each word is separated by individual symbols of the alphabet.
