AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL VISUAL NARRATIVES AND FEMALE AGENCY: EXPLORING GENDERED CONFINEMENT AND SOCIO-POLITICAL CONSTRAINTS IN DOMESTIC SPACES WITHIN CONTEMPORARY PAKISTANI FEMINIST ART"

Abstract

The research explores female visibility, autonomy and agency through autobiographical visual narratives embedded in domestic spaces, reflecting the artist’s lived experiences surrounding a troubled marriage. Symbolic use of furniture and crumbled female clothing articulates the dynamics of power and silence within the marital sphere. It explores how female artists articulate personal experiences of spatial and societal restrictions imposed on women, using the home as a critical site of negotiation and resistance. Through an analysis of visual language and thematic representations, the research highlights how these narratives challenge traditional gender roles and expose the complexities of identity, autonomy, and oppression in Pakistani society. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of feminist art as a powerful medium for reclaiming space and redefining women's roles within both private and public spheres. The artist’s series titled “The silent Spaces” articulates themes of isolation, loneliness, and marginalization within intimate spaces, the use of an ambient light to underscore female solitude despite bright, saturated colors. This analysis situates the works within a lineage of feminist artistic expression, that critically examines gendered confinement and the complex interplay of personal and political realities in Pakistani society.