Exhibition Details
Umber Majeed: JđY TECH uses speculative fiction to offer a counter-narrative of the Pakistan Pavilion at the 1964â1965 New York Worldâs Fair. Majeedâs multimedia works look at the history of the Pavilion through the perspective of the South Asian diaspora, her ongoing Trans-Pakistan project, and the visual culture of phone repair shops in Jackson Heights, Queens.
Trans-Pakistan is both the title of Majeedâs long-term research practice and the name of a tourist agency that was once owned and operated by the artistâs uncle. While the agency ultimately shuttered due to Islamophobic travel policies throughout the War on Terror, Trans-Pakistan continues to evolve as both metaphor and simulation in the artistâs digital universe.
Trans-Pakistan is both the title of Majeedâs long-term research practice and the name of a tourist agency that was once owned and operated by the artistâs uncle. While the agency ultimately shuttered due to Islamophobic travel policies throughout the War on Terror, Trans-Pakistan continues to evolve as both metaphor and simulation in the artistâs digital universe.
Additional Details
JđY TECH includes an augmented reality experience, installation, video, drawings, and ceramics that employ the language of the bootleg or counterfeit as a mode of worldbuilding. Calling to mind âSouth Asian digital kitsch,â storefront merchandising, and early web interfaces, Majeedâs fictional promotional campaigns and reimagined artifacts present alternative sources for filling in the gaps found in institutional archives.
From hand-drawn posters and reconfigured maps to interactive AR postcards and 3D animations, the exhibition includes references to the Pakistan Pavilionâs architecture, displays, goods for sale, and other fragments of the pavilion that circulate online. Majeed explores histories that are in a constant state of redefinition, blurring the lines between what may be considered official or unauthorized, authentic or propaganda, legible or opaque.
From hand-drawn posters and reconfigured maps to interactive AR postcards and 3D animations, the exhibition includes references to the Pakistan Pavilionâs architecture, displays, goods for sale, and other fragments of the pavilion that circulate online. Majeed explores histories that are in a constant state of redefinition, blurring the lines between what may be considered official or unauthorized, authentic or propaganda, legible or opaque.
Location
Queens Museum
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Long Island City, NY 11368
Image: Umber Majeed, “Search for Pakistan”, 2023-24 / courtesy of Queens Museum