Anam Rani
Casting the Present
Anam Rani’s work is a negotiation—between past and present, tradition and reinvention, restriction and freedom. Born and raised in Pakistan, she grew up within rigid societal expectations, where aspects of her existence were prescribed. Movement—both physical and emotional—was limited, and personal agency was secondary to custom. Leaving meant more than crossing borders; it was a rupture, a chance to step into a world where transformation and creativity were possible.
New York became her proving ground. In a city built on reinvention, she began again—on her own terms. Art became her language of self-definition, a means of navigating displacement and belonging. Her practice is deeply material-driven, incorporating graphite, iron powder, copper powder, turmeric, concrete, wax, and coffee—substances that oxidize, decay, and regenerate, mirroring her own metamorphosis.
Her sculptures translate personal history into material form. She takes objects from her upbringing—her mother’s prayer mats, the Islamic architecture she was immersed in, garments imbued with cultural significance—and reconstructs them in a new context, inviting the viewer into her present reality. Gym equipment, once off-limits to her but freely used by her three brothers, now becomes sculptural material—dumbbells, wristbands, resistance bands—symbols of strength and autonomy that she has reclaimed. Just as movement was restricted, so too was the way she could present her body. Mold-making allows her to explore these limitations, capturing the outline of a form once subject to codes of modesty. A cast of the body, positioned alongside folded religious caps, creates a tension between reverence and bodily presence, raising questions about visibility, autonomy, and what is deemed permissible.
Repetition is an anchor in her practice, a rhythm carried from the structured prayers of her childhood. Objects once bound by ritual—prayer mats, patriarchal religious caps—are folded, deconstructed, reimagined. A floor cushion made of beeswax challenges ideas of function and cultural history, shifting an object of daily use into a preserved relic of labor and tradition.
For Anam, working with material is a form of healing. The physical act of sculpting, casting, and layering connects her to her lineage, even as it challenges its expectations. She hopes her work will bridge the gap between herself and her family, offering a new language of understanding. Yet, in that act of creation, she also risks widening the distance—an unspoken tension that lingers in the space between tradition and reinvention.
At its core, her practice is about transformation—not just of materials, but of self. It is about reclaiming, reshaping, and forging new meanings from the remnants of the old. Through her work, she carves out space—not just for herself, but for others navigating displacement, reclaiming identity, and moving freely. Because now, she can. And so she does—with love at the core of it all.
