2025 MFA Thesis Exhibition

Drawing on themes of transformation, evolution and metamorphosis, I explore the body’s profound relationship with repetition and time. Pushing the body physically through dance based movements, my body becomes a manifestation of endurance to achieve a heightened state of self (nafs). Through these transcendental states that emerge from this out of body experience, I seek to surrender and submit. Aligning the body and the breath with the rhythmic inhalation and exhalation, the body becomes a vessel for synergy, connection, and desire. In this communion of breath and motion, the body is celebrated as a sacred vessel—a portal between the nafs and the unknown. Thinking through the spiritual nature of Sufi transcendence, in this multi channel video installation, the shadow acts as a gateway between these dimensions. The oscillation of the shadow forces a confrontation between the real and the abstract. Whereas, the oscillation of the nafs is a cyclical journey between these states, often manifesting as a dance—between desire and restraint, shadow and light

Qasim Ali Hussain (b. 1996) is a Pakistani interdisciplinary artist and performer based in Brooklyn, New York. His practice spans from painting and drawing, to installation and video, to dance and performance. Interested in ideas of transcendence and transformation he explores the body’s profound relationship with rhythm, repetition and time. Repeating movements, gestures and marks, the body becomes a manifestation of endurance to achieve a heightened state of self and an exploration of desire. Graduating with a BFA in painting from Lahore’s National College of Arts and an MFA from Parsons School of Design, Hussain has exhibited in numerous gallery shows across Pakistan and New York such as Daastangoi and O’Art Space. He has also completed the Guti Artist Residency in Hunza Valley, Pakistan. Hussain is also a dancer and choreographer and has worked closely with the Lahore dance company ‘The Colony’ and collaborated with major Pakistani artists such as Ali Sethi. His dance endeavours have led him to perform (solo and in ensembles) at esteemed institutions such as the Alhamra Arts Council in Lahore and National Academy of Performing Arts, Karachi among others.