Cultural shock is the concept of feeling disoriented when a person is subjected to a completely different way of life and practices. I went through this when I moved to Australia to do a postgraduate degree in 2017. My work shows two sides of this experience: one is in trying to keep the customs alive from my home country, Pakistan, and the other is trying to be free and alive in my new home.

The concept of this artwork is derived from personal experience of wanting to feel free and not abide by the customs and cultures that prevent Pakistani women to be the way they wish to. The role of Pakistani women in the society is to be a housewife; her value is based on how well she raises her children, looks after her spouse and keeps the house clean. I have worked with graphite, pen and colored photo print to achieve the feelings of a person trying to separate herself from her cultural values and norms. As an example, one of my works shows how I just want to be at home and enjoy doing what I do rather than what is expected of me by my traditional cultural values. The point here is not to criticize one society and praise the other, but to shed light on how women rights have been subjugated in Pakistan since 1947 and how it is so integrated that it feels normal.