Samiya Younis London, United Kingdom
Samiya Younis, a British-born Pakistani artist based in London, draws inspiration from her South Asian heritage. Her multidisciplinary practice, spanning sculpture, installation, painting, and performance, explores identity, hybridity, memory, belonging, and fragility through materiality, storytelling, and acts of quiet resistance that challenge dominant narratives.
My artistic practice is interdisciplinary, spanning sculpture, textiles, painting, performance, and installation. Rooted in my South Asian heritage and lived experiences in Britain, my work explores identity, hybridity, memory, and belonging through materiality, storytelling, and acts of quiet resistance. I weave together contemporary and traditional techniques to reflect on fragility, repair, and the complexities of cultural memory.
Central to my process is the act of constructing and deconstructing, embodying the tensions and harmonies between my cultural worlds. Through making, I examine how personal and collective histories are preserved, reimagined, and sometimes fractured. My work challenges familiar narratives, inviting viewers to see with fresh eyes and engage in dialogue about womanhood, migration, and the evolving nature of identity.
Artwork
Flight Revisited, 2018, Second hand South Asian women and girls clothes, pure Indian silk/cotton/linen, laundry bags, and cotton thread., 2018
Haven, 2019, Printed text on cotton, underwear, bonding web and mosquito net., 2019
Remnant, 2016, Plaster, fabrics, chains., 2016
Between two worlds, 2015, Plaster of Paris, surface wall filler, fabrics, charcoal, acrylic paints, glue, fabric transfer, chains., 2015
Let me breathe, 2015, Mesh fencing wire, metal spray paint., 2015
Women are your fields, (series of 3), 2016, Silicone, acrylic paint, 2016