Dinner for one, please Abdullah Qureshi Digital Photography, Time Lapse Video, Performance 2022
خد | ا
و
Khud | A - Self | Come, 2022, time lapse video, 1:16
میں
میں
Mein - Me, 2022, digital photograph
ہم
جنس
Hum | Jins - We | Sex, 2022, tri-panel digital photographs
عکس
عکس
Aks | Reflection, 2022, digital photograph
Maharaj Ghulam Hussain Kathak (1905 – 2001) was a classical dancer and teacher in Lahore, Pakistan. He never married and was once asked whether he feels lonely. He responded:
اکیلا ہوں - تنہا نہیں Akela hoon - tanha nahin I am alone - not lonely
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Banquets commemorate occasions such as marriage between a man and woman, the birth of a child, or the circumcision of boys in Pakistan; Dinner for one, please, is conceived as a disruption of these conventional customs. The series of photographic works draw from Maharaj's wisdom and celebrate queer singlehood and liberatory sexuality. The artist employs a performance-based approach in the three pieces, presenting himself in settings that propose joy, play, and curiosity as expansive spiritual and sexual sites, rejecting heteronormative models of companionship and kinship.
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How many people? Dinner for one, please.
Credits:
Artistic Director and Concept: Abdullah Qureshi Photographer and Editor: Mariam Magsi Production Coordinator: Steven Tucker
Dinner for one, please by Abdullah Qureshi is commissioned by the Dawat Yan Banquet which is hosted by Eric Chengyang and Mariam Magsi, with generous support from the AGO x RBC Artist-in-Residence Program, 2022