Reminded of childhood memories by Yasmin Jahan Nupur’s Unity of the Untitled, Urussa provides us with a glimpse of Christian traditions in Pakistan.

Growing up in Pakistan, Christmas, like Eid in England, is a quieter affair. It coincided with the birth of Pakistan’s founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and as such the day was granted off for that reason too.

St Paul’s Church is one I remember well because it was a pretty pink building near a major road in Pakistan’s third biggest city, Rawalpindi. My main memories of church in England were quite grey, ordinary looking buildings. My main memories around St Paul’s Church are of the road alongside it, Mall Road, which was constantly busy. This particular church began as a Presbyterian Church, which means it followed a Scottish branch of Christianity. Now, it is being ran by missionaries from North America. It is right near an army area so security is heightened as well as being near a popular international hotel, Pearl Continental.

Christmas in Pakistan follows a tradition of lights, glittering the Christian communities in Pakistan. My time in a Roman-Catholic school in Pakistan similarly marked the winter time with religious devotion combined with patriotic fervour. The presence of Christianity in an Islamic republic, which is also historically tied to the religions of Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism, does remark on the strength of British colonialism and how it brought a very British Christianity to Pakistan. The travel of religion, both the major religion of Islam and minor religion of Christianity, came about through travellers and conquest. So there is a shared history between the religions, albeit skewing towards Islam. The way in which the contributions and needs of Muslim communities in the UK are under-recognised is also reflected in Christian communities operating in Pakistan. Countries create structures which favour majority opinion.

The piece by Yasmin Jahan Nupur around lost heritages links to minority communities and their practises which become in danger of being lost due to a majority forces. Nupur’s Unity of the Untitled speaks about the lost, then re-found practise, of jamdani weaving. Christian communities and their cultural practises and contributions are also under-recognised in Pakistan.

Similarly in There’s No Place, Jakkai Siributr’s interactive textile work Changing Room explores life in Thailand’s Southern provinces with the caps used for prayer and army jackets instilling fears. The garments are embroidered with images of violence between the majority-Buddhist military and the Muslim population in the south, the kind of images most frequently shown on the news, as well as more peaceful scenes.

This shows another way in which socio-political structures can create tension with minority cultures and majority cultures.

–Urussa