Aqsa Shakil is a talented artist, making her name in the US art circles. Born in Tanzania, raised in Pakistan, and having lived in and traveled to the Middle East, Far East, and Europe, Aqsa has developed a diversely informed perspective that she brings to bear in her creations - which include eggshell installations, miniature paintings, and photography. With aspirations to first join the ranks of renowned young artists like Shazia Sikander and Ambreen Butt, there's no limit to where Aqsa's talents will take her. Aqsa's talent has been recognized with a Visual & Performing Arts Achievement award from the Golden Key International Honor Society, the Dennis M. Cratz Dean’s Award during this year's Spring Show at UTD, and other rewards in juried events. She is currently a full time graduate student, doing her Masters in Fine Arts from the Meadows School of the Arts, at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.

Read on to learn more about this upcoming artist...

Tell us about yourself and how you came to be an artist?

My parents were in Tanzania (East Africa) when I was born. I was three when they moved back to Lahore. I was the only one of their four children who adamantly wanted to be an artist. I doodled religiously during classes through most of Beaconhouse. Half way through my FA at Kinnaird College I fueled my aspirations of making it to the National College of Arts by taking drawing lessons with Prof. Saeed Akhtar. To this day I benefit from his guidance and training ten years ago. My first attempt of applying at NCA resulted in them declining me, ironically on account of my drawing test. This rejection gave me the opportunity of running for Art Club President at Kinnaird, and winning the post for the year 1997-98. A traumatic broken engagement lured me to apply at NCA again; this time not only did they take me in, but they eventually gave me student merit scholarship for being one of the top five Fine Arts students throughout my time there. In third year I got married and moved to the States. When I moved to the US, I transferred my credits to the University of Texas at Dallas as an undergraduate student in 2002. This year, May 2005, after three institutions and a grand total of eight years I finally completed my BA with Summa Cum Laude honors.

What kind of schooling and formal education have you received in Fine Arts here in the United States?

At the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) I was an Art major; I was studying painting, along with other mandatory subjects. Despite the fact that I absolutely resent Math from the delightful core of my heart, and that I had no clue whatsoever about American History and Government, I managed to get A’s in all subjects, which earned me the Summa Cum Laude Medal. The inevitably instant next step is to dedicate this honor to Zeb, my husband, who has supported me every step of the way. His encouragement has given me the zeal to push myself just that much further. At the University of Texas at Dallas I received the Bryce and Jordan Scholarship for Creative and Performing Arts. I was on the School Dean’s list throughout my time there, due to which my biography got published in the National Deans List Book 2004. This year I was the sole recipient of the Visual and Performing Arts Achievement - Painting Scholarship from the Golden Key International Honors Society. My paintings have received awards a couple of times at juried shows at the UTD Visual Arts Gallery, including this year’s Dennis M. Cratz Dean’s Award in the Spring Show. This fall I started my Masters in Fine Arts at the Meadows School of the Arts of Southern Methodist University, Dallas. I am a full time graduate student, as well as a teacher’s assistant for two professors. It is a two year journey, for which I am thankfully receiving full scholarship. Southern Methodist University has very limited scholarships; of the applicants all over the world, only 5-6 students get full scholarship every year. When the director of Arts called me this March and told me that they had accepted me for fall and were going to give me a scholarship, it was one of the most exciting moments of my life.

What type of art is your specialty, and what techniques and media do you use?

Specializing as a miniature painter in NCA lured me into the direction of water-colors on Wasli (a special paper prepared by hand specifically for Miniature Painting). Now, as a contemporary artist I have chosen to practice with various materials like oils, acrylics, and enamel on egg shells, while indulging in media other than painting like drawing, and photography. After four years of art education in Pakistan, and over three years at the University of Texas at Dallas, I have now attained the magical ability to brew a potion of contemporary ideas and traditional Indian Miniature Painting. Even though my work now digresses from the typical Miniature Painting style, it is deep rooted in the same traditions and techniques. Using eggshells as a canvas to paint on, I arrange them in personal installations, each of which is a shrine to commemorate fragile relationships of extreme emotional involvement.

What are these "egg shell installations" and how do you create them?

My egg shell installations consist of hollow egg shells hung with fish-wire from the ceiling and then dipped in glossy enamel paint. The process of painting the eggs brings about an important part of the installation: the splotches. When the eggs are dipped in paint, the excess paint drips off of the surface and falls to the ground. Because the eggs are suspended from the ceiling with wires, they pendulate and sway, and leave behind beautiful irregular splotches on the floor. I capture these drips on sheets of paper, which serve as a backdrop for some installations. In other cases I have painted the eggs in the gallery, as cite-specific installations, and let the splotches sprawl out on the gallery floor rather than hung up on the walls. These beautiful messes portray many meanings. The time-consuming and meticulous process of the splotches growing bigger drop by drop depicts the slow process of the construction and destruction of a relationship. It builds through words, contact and interaction, but when it slowly falls apart the mess left behind is the splotches on the floor. Even in this case, in its ugliness is a method and beauty; it is the beauty of having experienced an intense relationship, and gained wisdom!

What inspires you to paint and which of your creations is your favorite?

I get inspiration from my own life, experiences and relationships. Leaving behind friends and family was the most pronounced glitch in my move to the States. Very emotional, staunch and continual relationships were suddenly suspended in thin air, and placed on ‘pause’ mode. As far as the unpleasant ones are concerned, it was a breath of fresh air, but for the most part it was the physical and mental closeness of individuals like Taimur, Nano and Nazia, that got me gasping for friends and family. Most of my art work now revolves around relationships like these. Somehow it is the detrimental kind of relationships that has enough impact to give the initiative to make the most personal and emotionally draining art.


My favorite art piece is my thesis show: ‘Orbit’; it was an installation of over two hundred egg-shells hanging from a hand-constructed false-ceiling, covering an area of six by twelve feet. There were over 10 different kinds of eggs used to construct this piece: chicken (white), chicken (brown), duck, goose, turkey, quail, pigeon, guinea, rhea, emu and ostrich. It is my favorite piece because it epitomizes my ambition to break boundaries and overcome physical and economical hurdles to reach for the higher aim, and make it a reality; of course the back breaking work and sleepless nights I put into constructing it also tips the scale some!

What are your career goals?

My mother has had an educational career for over 20 years now, and I aspire to follow in her footsteps. When I complete my MFA I want to teach at a university level. I also want to actively produce and exhibit my art for as long as I can. That about encompasses my career dreams and goals.

What is your opinion on the promotion of art and artists in Pakistan?

There have always been dynamic figures in Pakistan who have promoted Art education in Pakistan. This subsequently fuels the promotion of art and artists themselves. The one prominent figure that sticks out in my mind is Salima Hashimi, who has been the Principal of NCA for many years. She has recently opened art galleries in Lahore as well as Karachi. Many other new galleries have sprouted in Pakistan, which is a sure sign of a blooming art scene. My young class-fellows from NCA who graduated three years ago are actively showing their work at exhibitions in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. I am very pleased with the promotion of art and artists in Pakistan. The need for it to continue and improve can not be denied though, but I have faith in its strong and steady growth.

How are artists like yourself helping in promoting the softer image of Pakistan in this country?

I am not quite sure what you mean by a ‘softer’ image, but I will do my best to answer your question. Most Pakistani students studying here are males; most of them get into the fields of engineering, medicine, business or accounting; most of them are unmarried. To be a married female student from Pakistan, and studying Fine Arts is an eye-opener for anyone who inquires about it. Most people are pleasantly surprised to hear that there are ample advancements in the fields of the arts and cultural education in Pakistan and that serious students are now coming out here to further their education and ambitions. Pakistani artists living in the States like Shazia Sikander and Ambreen Butt are well known all over the States, and are doing our country proud. It is my aim to join these women in correcting the image of Pakistan through sheer hard work and a successful career; I know that I am already on that path.

What words of advice would you give to our upcoming and aspiring artists?

The world is what you make of it; if opportunity allows it, the best way to broaden your horizon is to travel the world and most importantly, gain the experience of attending an international institution. For an artist, more than anyone else, it is a chance to open that tiny mind full of colossal vacant spaces and flare up the fire of poetic and artistic passion. There is financial help out here in the form of scholarships and grants for those who need it and who make the right moves, the most crucial of which is communication. The number of people you talk to/write to/e-mail will determine your chances of getting financial help, along with your transcripts, awards and talent. Today, the internet is an indispensably cardinal tool of the 21st century, which makes research about art programs in Universities all over the world and communication with their art directors easy by million-folds. Take advantage of your opportunities; make the effort; go the extra mile; it will take you where you aspire to go and catapult you beyond.