In this work, a vigorously marked pastel monotype by Donnamaria Bruton serves as the base for Sikander’s own graffiti-like, emotional response to one of Pakistan’s Hudood Ordinances, introduced when she was ten. Unmarried women victimized by rape or accused of adultery were threatened with public lashings, as intimated at the center of this image. Deformed bodies and coiled designs resembling ovaries or watchful eyes surround the spectacle.
Shahzia Sikander (born 1969)
The 100 Public Lashes, 1994
Pastel monotype and pastel on tan paper
Collection of the artist
© Shahzia Sikander. Courtesy: the artist, Sean Kelly, New York and Pilar Corrias, London.