Partition and Other Stories

Moeen Faruqi is an artist and writer living in Karachi. His paintings have been exhibited widely within Pakistan and internationally in Canada, Italy, Singapore, Bangladesh, UK and India. His most recent show was at Canvas Gallery in Karachi. His poems have been published in various literary journals in Pakistan and abroad. 

Moeen Faruqi has earned a strong reputation as a painter of alienation in the modern world. His work conveys the angst of existence in an urban setting. Reflecting a global culture, our cities have become increasingly similar and even interchangeable. This globalization and uniformity also leads to greater estrangement and a sense of unbelonging.

Primarily narrative in nature, his work speaks through characters that stare out at the viewer, as if pleading for relief from distorted relationships and artificial interactions. Men, women, and even animals, enact an absurdist theatre that attempts to engage and elicit a response – perhaps of self-recognition – from the viewer.

I would like to acknowledge the invaluable help of my friend Mariyah Mazari in making these images.