I am, A Spectacle: Reclaiming Female Consciousness through Performance Art in Pakistan

Abstract

In the last decade, there has been a resurgence of women artists engaging with performative arts in Pakistan. This paper dissects the multilayered agencies of performative modes of being, deep emotional and spiritual shifts in perception, and the impact of performance art on the consciousness. The dominant explanation of psychological and physical shifts as the body enters into a state of performance. By examining various projects initiated by a Lahore based performance art platform, House Limited, I clarify the processes by which performance works directly inform the gender desegregation in public spaces in Pakistan. Furthermore, the imminent internal and external threats that the women artists overcame as they created these performance-based works. Contrary often assumed, by actively negating the conventional art market, these artists not only liberated to cement an alternative art community, reputations, and networks, but also actually liberated themselves.