Pakistan Culture Inspires Art in New Show at Falmouth Art Center

A one-woman show of her work, “The Jharoka Collection” is on display at Falmouth Art Center from May 1 to 31.

Ms. Noor visited Cape Cod frequently with her family as a child and now lives in Sagamore. She received her bachelor’s degree in economics and history at Lehore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan.

Ms. Noor did not study art in school but she has long had an interest encouraged by her mother.

“All my life, art has been a part of me . . . My mother was an artist at heart. She would set me down right next to her, with my own little paint tubes, as I wanted my paints to look like hers, and would show me various strokes and techniques. As she would paint her own heart out, I followed and did the same.”

Having worked at traditional careers in the corporate sector, Ms. Noor moved a couple years ago to Cape Cod, and she is now turning her attention to art.

“I decided to take a leap of faith and embrace what calls my heart. I have had the pleasure of being brought up in an ever-changing environment, from spending my childhood predominantly in Pakistan, America and the United Kingdom. It is here from where I take inspiration for my art,” she said.

The architecture and culture of Pakistan are ever-present in her art in which she uses acrylics, oils, wood and clay. “My art is a conscious portrayal of the world and its varying cultures through usage of different mediums and techniques to bring out the beauty of the world as I have perceived it,” she said.

Her show at Falmouth Art Center, called “The Jharoka Collection” is focused on Pakistani culture, with “Jharoka” referring to the intricate balconies in the Pakistani architecture.

“This collection manifests the rich, deeply rooted culture of Pakistan and the Mughal era, using the Jharokas, a traditional balcony, to reveal varying reflections of the area. The intricate patterns of today go hand in hand with the delicate wood engravings of old to portray a standing still of past, present, and future, all weaved together in vibrant geometric designs,” she wrote about the show.

She said, “The Jharoka collection aims to stir a conversation around an era that is largely overshadowed by a colonial past.”

Each of Ms. Noor’s paintings in the show is made by combining two or more of the following mediums: wood, cement, clay, oil, acrylic paints and pen.

The Falmouth Art Center located at 137 Gifford Street in Falmouth is free and open to the public daily, Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm; Saturday 10am to 2pm and Sunday 1 to 4pm. For more information, go to FalmouthArt.org or call 508-540-3304.

The Falmouth Art Center, a 501c3 nonprofit founded in 1966, is dedicated to the visual arts, providing educational and exhibition opportunities and welcoming students of all ages and abilities and all who enjoy and appreciate art.