Desi is a daring word. I can go around saying it over and over again like a mantra. I tend to believe it is the best word to describe Brown Asians. Phrases like Asian American, British Pakistani, East Indian etc. are bureaucratic labels that do not hold within them the revolutionary power. I prefer words like Black, Latino, Charlie, Paki and of course Desi - because these ethnic slurs raise associations of struggles. Desi is a similar word, filled with so much historical emotions. The word comes from the Sanskrit word "Des" meaning "homeland", but it does not say what that homeland is. And that’s what makes it ironic for me.

 

Perdesi, which is derived from Pardes means a foreigner; referring to a typical prime example of a subcontinental person.  All that is wholesome and brown.

 

The series ‘Desi Perdesi’ tries to examine dimensions of my life in the diaspora and demonstrates that identity is always constructed in relation to others. The works in this series critique diaspora-theory views of ethnicity and identity, some of which focuses on self-imposed exile, during which I imitate as hybrid identity during my travels. I somehow believe that hybridity and diasporic identity cannot be separated from power dynamics because identities are forged through both passive and active processes and they involve interaction with the locals and their surroundings.

 

All These projects took shape outside Pakistan ; mostly during my residencies in Europe and America - where I felt like a diasporic individual when I did not even choose to relocate myself but in a way I was forced to by pre-imagined image of me as a Brown Muslim Pakistani Asian which for me fits only under one title - that is Desi. These projects are sarcastic take on my identity obstacles which I get to encounter a lot outside Pakistan. The core quests of this series engage - identity, displacement, diaspora, violence, the many types of censorship and labelling on DESI’s.