Motherhood has been a recurring subject throughout the history of art. From religious paintings to sculptures, artists have long used it to speak about love, sacrifice and care. In her solo exhibition ‘Where Lines Hold’ at the Sanat Initiative, Ramsha Rubbani revisits this familiar subject through a contemporary visual language shaped by her own experience as a mother.

Although Rubbani comes from a design background, becoming a mother changed the way she began looking at both nature and art. Nature has always remained central to her practice, but motherhood became, for her, its most sacred and powerful expression. Rather than depicting motherhood as an ideal or a social role, the exhibition approaches it as something instinctive, intimate and deeply grounded in nature.

The series was inspired by the artist’s visit to Europe, where she encountered centuries of artworks celebrating maternal relationships. Images of the Madonna and Child and Michelangelo’s Pietà became important points of reference for Rubbani, not only because of their artistic significance but because of how naturally motherhood continues to exist within public and cultural spaces.

Returning home, Rubbani became increasingly aware of the absence of similar imagery and conversations........

© Dawn (Magazines)