If the History Would be Folded, Where Would You Put the Crease? from Fatima Zahra Hassan’s World’s End Series II stopped me in my tracks. The phrase, written in red as a reversed mirror image, was not easy to decipher at first. What initially caught my attention, however, was the embroidered depiction of Archangel Rafael, or Hazrat Israfeel, blowing a trumpet on a paper pattern for a scarf — perhaps the simplest garment to stitch. This image of Israfeel, poised to announce the end of the world, contrasted sharply with the serene silence of the gallery.

The soor’s legendary ear-splitting Nafkha-tul-Fana, signalling the Day of Judgement, seemed a world away as I viewed the artworks in peace before the show’s opening day. The exhibition ‘Imaginary Shores’ at Chawkandi Art gallery, curated by Nusrat Khawaja, features the works of two London-based miniature artists, Fatima Zahra Hassan and Ayesha Amjad.

Miniature art in Pakistan has a long and illustrious history, tracing its lineage through the courts of Turkey, Mesopotamia, Persia and the subcontinent. Miniature painting has served as a medium for everything from medical discourses and travelogues to personal and political commentaries. While the term ‘miniature’ refers not to the size of the work........

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