Ladies of the House (Quarantine Series) Painting

Through her work, Saira embraces emblems of spirituality, cross ideological iconography and metaphor in relation to femininity and her own identity. • • • BIOGRAPHY • • • Born in London, to Pakistani parents, Saira was raised in a household of both immense cultural pride as well as deep religiosity. These levers, in many ways were the inspiration and rebellious fuel of her early artistic impulses. Through painting and drawing, Saira found escapism, creating otherworldly terrains of symbolism. Her diarised sketches became a secret language, one her parents couldn’t decipher, one they didn’t approve of. Caught between family duty and the associated expectations of dutiful femininity, she fled to Portsmouth University where she studied film and semiotics. This was eventually agreed to be a short stop gap before she would assume the role of wife. Yet instead, her passion for artistic filmmaking, for the art of documenting and creating content, and for the power of story telling, would compel her to follow a wildly different path. Realising independent financial success would be required as the price of freedom, Saira took on the battle that came with going against the cultural tide. Working relentlessly establishing herself as a sought-after Media and Interactive Producer (working on Live 8, alongside Bob Geldof amongst other award-winning tech titles), becoming a respected businesswoman founding her own brand-tech-events company and investing in businesses across media and entertainment sectors. Yet, while creativity and innovation were the cornerstone of her professional trajectory it would be a second, chance awakening that would bring her back to her underlying passion of semiotics and making art. It was at this moment Saira allowed her roots to be set free and it would be her life’s experiences that would provide the rich narrative to her own work.