Curatorial note on Batool’s work, from Historical Children at Savvy Contemporary, Berlin (2024-25)

“The translucent layers of paint with photograph imprints and textural elements of embroidery in the series Mapping Roots reassemble a palimpsest of the mind. A record of memories, being, locality, kin, home and that has been left behind. This record keeps accumulating and the edges of the events keep vanishing with each shift. It is carried from one generation to the next, across language and times. The paintings in this series are an ode to the women of her community, to her mother, aunts, grandmothers, sisters and daughters who continue to nurture and sustain the generation before and after, acknowledging and honouring the struggle and resilience with which each hardship and aggression is borne. In this work, Batool extends the perception of roots and their connection to land, for the marginalized communities that continue to move- displaced, hunted and haunted – carrying their roots and the soil that comes with it rich with stories of survival spreading and tying new lands.”