SHEBA CHHACHHI, LALA RUKH

Sheba Chhachhi and Lala Rukh share a deep commitment to using photography as a means to document, annotate, and construct archives of the women’s movements in South Asia. Both artists were involved in designing and distributing posters and other ephemera, and co-organised and participated in numerous workshops focused on screen printing, theatre, video, and poster-making. Together with feminist activists, writers, filmmakers, dancers, theatre directors, singers, and visual artists, they deliberated on questions of representation of the female subject in art and popular media, proposing new interpretations through creative and discursive interventions. In this exhibition, Sheba Chhachhi’s and Lala Rukh’s archives serve as a focal point for exploring the affective registers generated by women’s movements.

The display begins with the artists’ extensive photo documentation, capturing the diverse sites of gathering that defined this pivotal moment—from small-scale, intimate workshops and seminars to street actions as well as regional and international gatherings. It showcases ephemeral materials such as posters, booklets, and songs, designed for widespread distribution and public engagement, which transcended urban-rural divides, geographic borders, and traditional notions of authorship. We examine how such ephemeral material challenges conventions of the archive, in their immediacy of address and contexts of circulation, moving at a pace that eludes capture.

In Our Own Backyard takes its title from a manual written and designed by Lala Rukh, produced alongside a series of screen printing workshops held in Lahore in 1987. This workshop, along with others held across South Asia from the 1980s onward, provided a platform for artists to share their knowledge with participants from the region. These gatherings facilitated the production of posters that articulated demands for gender justice, serving as vital efforts for feminist practitioners to claim the means of production at a time when access to conventional printing presses was limited. The archival materials further engage in conversation with three artworks on display.

Inspired by multiple visits to Sri Lanka, Lala Rukh’s Sigiriya III: Night (1993) overlays images of an ancient city’s gardens with a depiction of water, reflecting her extensive exploration of screen printing techniques and practices of mark-making. Subh-e-Umeed (2008), a sound work by Lala Rukh created during the Lawyers’ Movement in Pakistan, captures the evolving soundscapes that marked her day—morning strolls, street actions, and classical music pursuits. Sheba Chhachhi’s The Yamuna Series (2005) centres on the Yamuna River in India, marking an expansion in her feminist concerns towards urban ecology. This work draws connections between various extractive systems and the power dynamics that shape our living environments.

Alongside showcasing artworks and archival materials by Sheba Chhachhi and Lala Rukh, In Our Own Backyard signposts and cites the contributions of feminist practitioners such as Kamla Bhasin, Urvashi Butalia, Chandralekha, Anamika Haksar, Anuradha Kapur, Nighat Said Khan, Nilima Sheikh, Navina Sundaram, and Susie Tharu, among others, as well as initiatives and organisations that emerged from within the women’s movements, such as Anveshi Research Centre for Women’s Studies, Simorgh Women’s Resource and Publication Centre, Vivadi, Women’s Action Forum, and Zubaan. Additionally, it features Maryam Rahman’s Lala Rukh: Art, Love & Feminism (2025), a children’s book narrating the artist’s contributions. Furthermore, the exhibition invites Asian Feminist Studio for Art and Research (AFSAR), a contemporary collective and virtual platform with members from across Asia and its diasporas, to respond to the ideas and materials on display.

Registering the continuities, shifts, and departures in feminist discourses, AFSAR members present Moving Hums (2025), an online radio station that unfolds throughout the exhibition, featuring readings, songs, interviews, and field recordings, culminating in onsite gatherings. In Our Own Backyard builds upon AAA’s ongoing research inquiry into the multifaceted roles that artists play—in this context as organisers and documenters—offering a broader perspective on their cultural milieus. We pose the question: What happens when we shift art history’s focus from individual artists and artworks to the networks, communities, and movements that artists engage with?