Mapping Festivities
. project 06
date. 2021
city. Karachi-Venice
medium. Digital
This project was made in collaboration with researchers and artists from Playground at Habib University
The Playground was approached by the curators of The National Pavilion Pakistan to come up with a visual research project on the theme of “Mapping Festivities” for the Pakistan Pavillion for the 17th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice.
Mapping Festivities looks at the particularities of the complexity of communities and its correlation with the basic infrastructure of weddings; festivities, rituals, spaces, architecture, stakeholders and workers. Wedding cultures in South Asia are deeply rooted in traditions and social values, thus the researchers delved into it through extensive primary research. This revealed the basic essence of aestheticism, expression, and the play of colours and lights in all festive occasions and events.
Through field study and research, the researchers mapped out spatial networks of individual identities, stakeholders, industries, and different types of wedding venues in relation to the various economic classes existing in Karachi, Pakistan. A selection of interviews from 30+ communities was converged in order to show the unique ways in which communities celebrated themselves and their cultures, customs and wedding practices. This project offers a window view of the social and cultural diversities that exist in weddings, among the communities through oral histories.
The idea of mapping out major characters through the tarot card came when the research showed that there was one common theme in the diverse South Asian beliefs and cultures. This theme was how marriage is a central practice and it can make or break a couple’s future and subsequently their family’s standing in society. The importance of marriage and the magnanimity of its celebration is precisely due to this belief. The cards of major arcane were translated through a figure, event, or ritual from a South Asian wedding. For example, the card of the Fool was made into ‘Dulhan’ (Bride). The fool is a powerful card that embodies new beginnings. The South Asian bride is a central figure and is expected to leave her parent's home and get accustomed to a new lifestyle with her husband and in-laws. The colour palette is chosen with careful consideration of the common colour themes found within the wedding aesthetic in the South-Asian region. The emblem featuring a lotus flower symbolizes rebirth, purity, fertility and strength. The emblem design is visualized in the style of mehndi/henna designs.
