LAHORE: An inspiring exhibition of mixed media artworks by Minaa Haroon based on a research project of feminine accessories such as jewellery will soon hit the visual art scene of the city.

The artist is currently working on an extensive research project on the theme of inheritance.

`We are surrounded by the objects that we use, love, keep or throw away according to our needs and desires in daily life.

Throughout history, archaeologists have discovered various civilisations through their material culture,` Ms Haroon explained herbasicidea.

Talking about her research, she added: `My research on objects begins by examining my mother`s jewellery that she keeps in her locker and is very attached to those pieces. The work predominantly responds to the feminine accessories as they speak of female desires, lives, boundaries and challenges in our lives. The works are alsoabout the inheritance of women`s objects of possession (or objects they are possessive about) narrating and creating their individualistic portraits through this work. The objects tend to evoke memories of the past as it is inherited from one generation to another over decades, especially in South Asiantradition`.

Ms Haroon says the orientation of objects and spaces investigates the personal and social expression of self-organisation and self-identity and creates a socio-political statement.

`The personal becomes political. With such evocation of memories through materials and processes, I redefine the meaning of objects by transforming them and celebrating them in tangible marks that shift objects into historical entities or relics. This celebration of the object inspires multiple layers of imagination to transform meaning and material and its historical context in the society,` she says.

Minaa is an interdisciplinary visual artist who executes ideas through miniature paintings, paper, sculptures, installations and digital works. She has worked in different art and culture segments as a visual artist and culture administrator. She has exhibited her works at various art galleries nationally and internationally i.e. Biennale, Collegium New, Orsha, Suzhou University Museum, China,Rawasi Palestine Association, Antidot Dubai, Koel Gallery, ArtChowk Gallery and had two international solo exhibitions.

Minaa Haroon currently heads the Alhamra Art Gallery as assistant director at the Lahore Arts Council. She has curated approximately 50 exhibitions by now at the Alhamra Art Gallery, including the Young Artists` Exhibition, Alhamra National Exhibition, Museum of Sociology and Anthropology, Thammasat University, and Queen Sirkit Convention Centre, Thailand. She has been a member of the Art and Architecture Committee of the Punjab government.

She has received the prestigious Sir Percy Award at the NCA and Young Artist 2012 at the Alhamra Art Council and the Popular`s Choice Award, RedArtBox, Los Angeles. She has conducted and organised five art workshops and has been judged in various art competitions.

The artist says her artworks are in the final phase and she will hold the exhibition next month at a private gallery of the city.