I was thoroughly inspired by Naiza Khan‘s talk last month at the UCB Guftugu on contemporary Pakistani art. Particularly compelling was a series that Khan created a few years ago that involved painting figures in mehendi on the side of buildings in her home city of Karachi.

These somewhat androgynous figures appear to float and materialize like ghostly apparitions alongside graffiti and old paint throughout the city. Khan’s interest in decaying geographies and the complexities of urban environments is further embodied in her more recent series on Manora Island.