About the work

Kazim is fascinated by the human body and is interested in exploring its position within space and time. This desire to explore man’s identity and place in the universe has directed the majority of his art making and he returns to this theme time and time again. 

“This edition of the biennale presented an opportunity to revisit my time in London as a student at the Slade in 2010. Here is a portrait of someone I saw at Piccadilly Circus in those early years. His image has stayed with me all this time. I was fascinated by the tattoos and multi-faith symbols that covered his body. My drawing reflects upon about how our beliefs shape our identity, and how we choose to make these legible and understood. Often misunderstood.”

– Ali Kazim

Date and country of birth

1979, PK

About the artist

Born 1979 Pakistan, Ali Kazim lives and works in Lahore. Graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art, London (2011); and National College of Arts, Lahore (2002).

Kazim’s work is held in public and private collections including Metropolitan Museum New York; British Museum; Victoria and Albert Museum London; Queensland Art Gallery Australia; Burger Collection Hong Kong; Creative Cities Collection Beijing; Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi; Samdani Foundation, Dhaka; and Kemal Lazar Foundation.

Selected solo exhibitions include Of Darkness and Light, Rohtas II, Lahore (2016); Untitled installation (hair sculpture), Rohtas II, Lahore (2015); Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai (2013); Rider, Green Cardamom, London (2009); Cartwright Hall Gallery, Bradford (2008); and Sacred Souls, Secret Lives, Ethan Cohen Fine Arts Gallery, New York and Green Cardamom, London (2006). Selected group exhibitions include Lahore Biennale 01 & 02 (2018 &2020); Asia Pacific Triennial, Brisbane (2018); Karachi Biennale 01 and 02 (2017& 2019); Drawing Biennial, Drawing Room, London (2017 &2019); Human Image: master pieces of figurative art from the British Museum, Seoul Arts Center (2016); The Missing One, OCA, Oslo (2016); Dust, Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw (2015); Ethereal, Leilah Heller Gallery, New York (2014); Portraits, Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis and London (2013); Treasures of the World’s Culture, Museumsmeile, Bonn (2012); and Drawn from life, Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal and touring (2011).

Residencies include the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; The Art House Residency, Wakefield; and Art OMI Residency, New York. Awards include the inaugural Karachi Biennale jury prize; finalist for the Catlin Prize; The Land Securities Studio Award, London; and Melvill Nettleship Prize for Figure Composition, UCL, London.