Karachi,Pakistan-My Inspiration came from our first year drawing assignment in which we draw the negative spaces of some objects. This assignment, we continue till our fourth year. I started pondering as to why negative spaces are so important, and that’s when I started reading about them and I found interesting compositions in which negative spaces were used to create some very intriguing artwork.I then started looking at everything around me in terms of negative spaces – chairs, buildings, humans and nature. I soon realised my penchant for working on the negative spaces in nature andtreeswere my biggest inspiration.Trees are miracles of nature, and I believe they’re closely ties to human lives. Like us, they too evolve, change in shape and size, grow old and die. I started photographing trees voraciously, capturing their diversity in structure and season.
I decided to working on soundproof panels because Pakistani media is expending rapidly nowadays. Also, these panels are used not only for media studios but also for hospitals, offices, theatres, cinemas, schools and many other places that could be affected by sound pollution.
I then began working on different media to figure out what would work best as a soundproofing panel. Proper soundproofing material is not easily available in Pakistan, so I searched for cheaper substitutes that could help do the job. I began with buckram, a stiff cloth and went on to further explore my options.I found foam sheets which areeasily available, are inexpensiveand have the required properties for absorbing and reflecting sound.
Soundproof Panels- Negative spaces of Trees
As a student of textile design, my aim was to create something ornate and functional. Though soundproof panels don’t necessarily require being decorative, it helped add an artistic element to the mundane and helped me complete the task I had at hand with much success.
Written by: Najeeb Jatoi
Pictures by: NajeebJatoi
Project Coordinators: MaamIrum Zia and Maam Atiya Javeed
