Drop in to see the exhibition from 4:30-6:45 PM. Performances are from 7:00-8:00 PM.
Join us for the culmination of our time as artists-in-residence at The Ground Floor!
Mannat منّت is a word with Persian and Sanskrit roots that roughly signifies a wish, intention, or hope in the Urdu language. It is a coloured fabric that connects the past to the future. It is a symbolic gesture of exchange that involves tying colourful strips of cloth to trees near sacred places of Sindh.
This exhibit shares folklore from Sindh, Pakistan through the theme of mannat. We grew up in Karachi, creating imaginary worlds using materials that our mother and grandmother saved for us. Years later, we embraced our childhood play, and created miniature scenes and sculptures from the same materials. We use sari fabric that our grandmother gave us, from her saris that had become too worn to wear, to adorn women from these folktales. Wedding invitations that were carefully saved in the drawers of an antique letter-writing desk in our dining room in Karachi turn into skin and clothes of characters. Seeds and dried twigs foraged from hikes in Ontario make the landscape of these stories. Each material is lovingly transformed into a story, a scene, and a question for us and future generations.
The event is free and open to all. Food will be available at the event.
We gratefully acknowledge support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council and of course, the team at Jumblies.