The Ghaib (Unseen)

Lumen and Pak Khawateen Painting Club collaborated on a research expedition to villages and locations surrounding a number of glaciers in the third pole. As a group we explored the experience of living near these expanding and contracting water bodies via mythologies and local practices. In September 2022, Melanie and myself went to the Hunza region of Pakistan alongside Pak Khawateen Painting Club members Saba Khan, Saulat Ajmal, Zohreen Murtaza and Amna Hashmi.

During this time we met and researched with local community members - from those who had lost their homes due to glacial lake outburst flooding, to those who use the glacier as an income source, selling ice to nearby towns; as well as villagers living on fertile land below Ghulkin glacier involved in academic research and farming practices, to shepherds using the Passu glacier to transport livestock between seasons. The ‘third pole’ is being closely studied due to the growth of its glaciers, and with this comes international research interest but often not enough support on the ground to rebuild life and work practices following major incidents. I spent time listening in and around glacier locations - at the margins of water body and land - in villages and mountainside. The recordings made are a moment in time as it grows or recedes in a way that is often imperceptible in the everyday practices happening around it. The creaking and water flowing from its output the only indication of the evolving mass of water.

There are four exhibitions of work synthesised from the project, the first exhibition was at VM gallery Karachi and the final exhibition will be in the UK at Canterbury Christchurch University, opening on 18th September 2023.