Length: 108”
When I was in high school a grey kameez, a traditional Pakistani shirt, was a part of my school
uniform. I wanted to take something so organic and invisible like dust and make an extremely
visible and imposing silhouette of a young girl, referencing the weight of her presence and
experience. The kameez was made out of real dust and lint, which I actively collected, and it
constantly was leaking dust. The dust represents the debris of time, the incarnation of what
people want to sweep away and forget. Adolescent girls sometimes shoulder many burdens
when growing up in a patriarchal society, including feeling a loss of self. This sculpture speaks
about the catharsis of asserting oneself.
