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Photobook, 2020
This is a photo book satirising sign boards put up around a Karachi neighbourhood that are part of a beautification campaign aimed at portraying a certain image of the city to VIPs that pass through the area. The boards were put up by Commissioner Karachi, who often signs them off with a ‘CK.’ I changed the text on these boards to make comments on the actual state of affairs in the city as opposed to the glossing over of social realities that government officials are prone to indulging in.
Some of the many issues I address are: the Commissioner only focuses on beautifying a part of the Saddar and Clifton areas; Karachi is widely unsafe, especially for women; there is rampant censorship throughout the country; and how poor the infrastructure of Karachi is, which collapses during monsoon season flooding.
Below are some images of how the signs look in real life: