Samir Mahmood

“I like to think that pain has the potential to transform in some way, and it all depends on how you look at it.”

Samir Mahmood reflects on his move from a background in medicine, particularly health promotion, to his practice as a visual artist, in which he explores the connection between the material and the transcendental, often using his own body as a starting point.

From early collages, Samir, whose origins are in Pakistan, has moved to miniature painting, adopting some of the skills and norms of the tradition from the Indian subcontinent, but also subverting it by introducing themes relating to the experiences experienced of queer people.