Ali Kazim creates layered watercolour drawings that often depict solitary figures and desolate landscapes. Drawing on techniques inspired by miniature painting, Kazim’s meticulous brushwork captures fine details, from strands of hair to the textures of ruins. Kazim’s Bird Hunters series depict hunters from the Indus Delta who rely on migratory birds for their livelihood. The hunters conceal themselves with bird-like headgear to deceive their prey, a practice Kazim represents through minimalist compositions. Suspended in space and time against unmodulated backgrounds, the portraits are saturated with thin layers of watercolour wash. Evoking cultural traditions and the delicate interplay between survival and deception, Kazim’s hunters possess a monumental dignity.
 

Ali Kazim (b. 1979, Pattoki, Pakistan; lives and works in Lahore, Pakistan) received his BFA from the National College of Arts, Lahore in 2002 and a MFA from the Slade School of Fine Art, London in 2011. He is Assistant Professor at the National College of Arts, Lahore. His work has been exhibited widely in solo and group shows internationally, including: Art Mill Museum, Doha (2024); Lahore Biennale 03 (2024); The Box, Plymouth (2024); MK Gallery, Milton Keynes (2023); Al Mureijah Art Spaces, Sharjah (2023); Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai (2023); Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (2022); Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane (2022); Hinterland, Vienna (2022); Art Sonje Center, Seoul (2022); The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford (2022). His work is in many important collections, including Tate, London; British Museum, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Metropolitan Museum, New York; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Burger Collection, Hong Kong; Creative Cities Collection, Beijing; Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi; Devi Art Foundation, Delhi; Samdani Art Foundation, Dhaka; Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Tunis and Sharjah Art Foundation.
 

Courtesy of the artist