Khawaab Mahal and Absent Presence
Launch event for South Asia Gallery installation
Join us for the launch of two new installations with an ‘in conversation’ event in the South Asia Gallery.
Artist and writer Nasia Sarwar-Skuse will discuss her works Khawaab Mahal & Absent Presence, commissioned and co-created with Ways of Working, an arts and community platform for social change. Both will be exhibited in the South Asia Gallery from 29 May 2025 to 31 August 2025.
Nasia partnered with Ways of Working to share a profound commitment to examining colonial legacies, confronting uncomfortable truths, and reimagining historical narratives.
To celebrate the opening of Khawaab Mahal and Absent Presence we will be joined by the esteemed historian and curator Raj Pal, who will be in conversation with artist Nasia and Ways of Working co-director Owen Griffiths.
These works began their journey in South Wales, where Nasia and Ways of Working are based. Through the exploration of collections at National Museum Wales and Powis Castle and working with the communities of Cardiff, a new series of works were made responding to Welsh, British and global histories of empire.
Tracing a line of enquiry which found many tributaries – from Tipu Sultan to the industrial wealth of Wales, to Clive of India to a call for prayer which echoes inside the tent of dreams – these works explore if museums can ask the questions that lie dormant in their collections. Whose life and labour was subjected for this? How was/is power used? How do museums tell stories? What do we leave out?
Come see the works and join a conversation with the artist, team and historian Raj Pal at SAG on Wednesday June 4th at 6pm.
Khawaab Mahal and Absent Presence
Artworks originally commissioned by Ways of Working for National Museum Wales. This exhibition is specially created for the South Asia Gallery, funded by Manchester Museum, part of the University of Manchester.