Dr Naveen Hyder’s exhibition ‘Thread by Thread: She Gathers Herself’, held at Lahore’s Alhamra Arts Council during this year’s Faiz Festival, functioned as an intricate convergence of science and art. Curated by Rohma Khan, the exhibition demonstrated how Hyder’s immaculate embroidered practice translates botanical knowledge into visual form, weaving together concerns of ecological fragility, endangered flora and the lived realities of displaced communities.

Using discarded fabrics gathered from everyday life, she assembles layered compositions and then embroiders on to these surfaces, transforming fragments of waste into tactile narratives that reinforce her conceptual theme. Hyder’s practice compels viewers — who are often overwhelmed by the rush of contemporary life — to slow down, breathe and reconnect with the traditional practice of embroidery, a once familiar pastime inherited from mothers and grandmothers.

Hyder’s art speaks in layered narratives and hidden messages, carrying a story waiting to be uncovered. The practice relates closely to her lived experiences — most notably to a defining moment during a trek in the Hindu Kush mountain range, when relentless rain left her stranded for three days between two passes, transforming an unforeseen pause into a time of reflection and collaborative making.

During this interval, she,........

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