Rabeeha Adnan@peachygrenade

Artist Bio

Rabeeha Adnan (b. Lahore, Pakistan; lives Brooklyn, NY) is an interdisciplinary artist. Central to their work is an exploration of institutional power dynamics and the ‘politics of verticality,’ which informs their ongoing investigation into what they term “choreographies of power” that unfold when individuals encounter their work. Through the use of sculpture, projection mapping, sound, installation, text and intervention, they explore spatial semiotics, viewing each space as a unique signifier.

Rabeeha received their MFA in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (2024) and their BFA from National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan (2021). They have presented their work in the Southern Survey Biennial II, Project Row Houses, (2024 Houston, TX); Lagos Biennial (2024 Lagos, Nigeria), and the Karachi Biennial (2022 Karachi, Pakistan). They were a resident artist at Soma Summer (2023 Tlaxco, México).

Artist statement

Through the use of projection mapping, sound, installation, text and intervention, I explore spatial semiotics. Central to my work is an exploration of institutional power dynamics and the ‘politics of verticality,’ which inform my ongoing investigation into what I term “choreographies of power” that unfold when individuals encounter my work, including what becomes visible, how and when.

Could gestures/performance by my viewers become indispensable to experiencing the work?

A viewer positioning their body in relation to my work is determined by underlying questions of power and visibility. At the core of my practice is an interrogation of how

power manifests and is negotiated within spaces. I intend to make my installations both a site of critique and a space for generative inquiry. Through sculptures that probe spatial configurations, I prompt viewers to reflect on their presence, agency, and positionality within these spaces. Can the act of interacting with the work exemplify the very ideas it seeks to convey in relation to space?