Behram Farooqui is a Karachi-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores material transformation, memory, and the ways in which
histories are preserved, obscured, and reimagined. He completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction from the Department of Visual
Studies, University of Karachi, in 2023. Working across gold foil, textile, installation, and painting, his practice combines material experimentation
with research into overlooked histories, fragmented narratives, and alternative forms of archiving. Farooqui has participated in various group
exhibitions across Pakistan, presenting his work in galleries and cultural spaces in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. In 2023, he was awarded
the First Prize at the prestigious Sadequain Award for Painting. He was also a Resident Artist at Vasl Artists’ Association’s Museum of the
Unseen residency, where he further developed his research-driven practice. His ongoing work considers the relationship between materiality,
history, memory, and the archive, exploring how artistic practice can preserve, question, and reimagine narratives that have been overlooked
or obscured.
“The Mughal Empire remains one of the most extensively documented periods in South Asian history, preserved through imperial chronicles,
manuscripts, and miniature paintings. Yet, despite this vast archive, many individuals and roles survive only in fragments, overlooked within the
larger narrative of empire. Their absence raises questions about historiography and authority: who decides what is remembered, preserved, and
celebrated within history, and what is allowed to disappear over time. Among these fragments appears the lesser-known figure of the Urdubegi,
female guards associated with the Mughal zenana (harem). Historical references suggest that they were entrusted with the protection and
regulation of the imperial women’s quarters and, at times, the emperor himself. However, beyond scattered mentions in Persian chronicles and
later historical accounts, little documentation of their lives exists, and there are no confirmed visual representations of them within surviving
Mughal painting traditions. The absence of both textual and visual evidence became the starting point for this body of work. Rather than
reconstructing these women literally, the works function as a speculative archive shaped through fragments, impressions, and omissions.
Drawing from Mughal miniature aesthetics, manuscript traditions, and Persian calligraphic forms, the practice develops a visual language that
moves between visibility and erasure. The embroidered texts remain intentionally unreadable, evoking how certain histories become obscured
within the overwhelming expanse of recorded empire. Through the Begi-Nama, the show reflects on archival silence, historical erasure, and the
fragile nature of memory, while bringing attention to those who existed within history yet remained largely unseen.”