Javaria Ahmad

The culturally specific gender discourse around women’s everyday practices and
objects has influenced my life and my work. The everyday labor of homemaking comes
with its own joy and pain. The narrative of my work examines the submissiveness of
women subjugated to their everyday routines in traditional Pakistani culture. As a
woman who grew up within Pakistan’s belief system and is currently living in America, I
have been through a substantial number of bilingual and multicultural experiences.
Having lived in two contrasting cultures is an ethnographic research project for me. This
research gives me an opportunity to observe significant commonalities and differences
within both cultures, such as the usage of textiles within the home, gender roles, food or
eating habits, etc. Through examining both cultures simultaneously from the inside and
outside, I’m able to get a strong sense of place and cultural identity. Through my work in
ceramics, I explore the ambivalent relationship of everyday utilitarian objects with
traditional cultural practices and stereotypical beliefs that I observe in my surroundings.