Magdalen Road Studio Box PrintExchange 'CommUnity'
Title: “Dragon Commune”
Year: 2018
Medium: Etching with Chin Cole on 300 gsm Somerset
Image size: 26cm x 36cm
Paper Size: 28cm x 35cm
Sheikh has worked on numerous Community-building projects and is part of the core committee for ‘Pursukoon Karachi’, an organization that comprises of visual practioners, who work towards the betterment of the city through a peaceful creative approach. She has been an active member of ‘reimagining the walls of Karachi’ A project for I AM KARACHI, that aims to promote art activism and employ skills of artists who wish to engage with the city with a positive outlook and is also associated with Karwan-e-Hayat an organization active in caring for mentally ill indigent patients. Currently the Coordinator of the IVS Print Studio; Sheikh is part of the Fine Art faculty at the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture –Karachi Pakistan. Through her teaching career spanning over 20 years she has worked effortlessly on forming connections, creating awareness and showcasing the Pakistani printmaking trajectory engaging with the international community, through a number of educational exchange projects with regards to printmaking, ‘Chaap’ India, the Hong Kong Print Studio, Fantasy Asia with COFA in Australia, Fine Print and Signature box portfolios at the IVS Print studio. Through her practice she tussles with layers of the female archetype and reflects on nuances of the multiple avatars, a woman adorns. These roles don’t define, nor do they diminish her intertwined existence, they add layers of strength to her being. Within the commune, as spores spread, she gives and by this giving, grows. Her totem, the strategic dance of the dragonfly, carries the wisdom of quick changes in flight path, transformation and rebirth.