Ayqa Khan is a Pakistani-American photographer and digital illustrator. She is known for work that depicts South Asian women openly displaying body hair.
Ayqa Khan | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 14, 1995 United States, New York, New York City |
| Nationality | Pakistani-American |
| Education | Cooper Union |
| Known for | photography, illustration |
| Website | www |
Biography
editKhan is a first-generation Pakistani-American who was born and raised in New York City.[1] She identifies as Muslim.[2] Raised in a predominantly white area, Khan felt pressure to fit in with her peers and described herself in a 2018 interview with Allure as "somebody who had to prepare two hours to wake up early to make sure I had no hair on my face."[3] She continued removing unwanted hair until college.[3] Between 2016 and 2017 she stopped removing any body hair at all and struggled with the reactions of the general public and her family.[4] After beginning to reject societal expectations about body hair for herself, she began painting artwork featuring women with facial and body hair.[5]
As of 2020, Khan is a student at Cooper Union, and was selected to participate in a study abroad program at Central Saint Martins.[6][7]
Career
editKhan's work features traditional South Asian motifs and symbols of American youth culture and focuses on brown women with visible body hair they have decided not to remove.[8][9][10] The women are often seen in casual, personal or social settings because, as she explained in a 2016 interview, "body hair is a natural thing and so it makes sense for me to want to project it into my drawings of people."[11] Lia McGarrigle argued that the appeal of Khan's work is tied to how it challenges the inherent shame of traditional beauty standards toward body hair.[12]
Khan uses Tumblr and Instagram to connect and engage with her audience. In a 2016 profile, WNYC's Studio 360 explained her online presence has been well received by young women who identify with the imagery she creates and who have, in turn, confided their own stories of navigating two cultural experiences.[13] Creators echoed that sentiment explaining that she has created spaces for people to discuss and share their own relationships and experiences with body hair.[8]
In 2017 Khan contributed art for one of a series of Mother's Day greeting cards created by the California nonprofit Forward Together that aimed to promote awareness about different types of motherhood. Her piece depicted a mother on a Pakistani rug next to a saucer of tea, embracing her gender ambiguous child.[2]
Khan is the founder of SouthAsia.Art, an online collective that promotes the work of South Asian artists.[14]
Exhibitions
editSolo
edit- 2016 - SUBMERGING - Cooper Union, Manhattan, New York[15][12]
- 2016 - Take Me Home Tonight - Alt Space, Brooklyn, New York[16]
Group
editReferences
edit- ^ Brooks, Katherine (19 January 2016). "A Young Artist Wants To Give South Asian Women The Spotlight They Deserve". Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ a b Mire, Muna (12 May 2017). "Muslim Artists Celebrate Mother's Day, Diversity, and Family In America | Village Voice". Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ a b Abelman, Devon (18 May 2017). "Why I Used to Remove ALL of My Body Hair". Allure. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ Macmillen, Hayley (9 May 2018). "We Shot 14 Beautiful Portraits of Women's Arm Hair". Allure. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ Gupta, Prachi (11 January 2019). "Can We Not Do 'Januhairy,' Please?". Jezebel. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "Ayqa Khan". The Third Muslim. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
- ^ "Study Abroad 2". Designing With Type Awards. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
- ^ a b Roberts, Alison (5 July 2016). "A Space of Her Own: Ayqa Khan Raises a Voice - Creators". Creators. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ Gilligan, Minna (3 March 2016). "Bad Girl Painter: Ayqa Khan". www.rookiemag.com. Rookie. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ Róisín, Fariha (13 April 2017). "Youth Artists Ayqa Khan and Goth Shakira Discuss the Pressures of Being in the Public Eye". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ Gamble, Ione (6 January 2016). "The desi artist calling BS on body hair hate". Dazed. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ a b McGarrigle, Lia (15 August 2016). "Five Questions With Ayqa Khan". Amuse. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ Yellow-Duke, Afi (8 March 2016). "Ayqa Khan Draws Unapologetic Women". WNYC. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Ayqa Khan". The Third Muslim. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
- ^ "Submerging". cooper.edu. The Cooper Union. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ Kane, Ashleigh (7 December 2015). "The art space opening up the real world for young creatives". Dazed. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ Trykowski, Tyler; Kini, Aditi Natasha (8 February 2018). "A New Exhibit Explores the Art and Identity of Queer Muslims". Vice. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
External links
edit- "Artist Spotlight: Ayqa Khan". The Turmeric Project. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.