up close

1.⁠ ⁠What does black/pink say that other colours can't?

Sawan Taank: Black isn't a colour to me - it's time. The moment day turns to night, when memory and imagination take over. Pink is emotion - the quiet language of love and connection. Black holds silence; pink holds intimacy.**

Shazia Nabeel**: Pink carries romance and femininity. I grew up with a hot pink wall and wardrobe, so it's nostalgic, something familiar. Blush tones especially have a warmth that glows next to other colours.**

2.⁠ ⁠What's the best way to get up close with your work?

Sawan Taank: Come closer. From afar, my paintings look almost entirely black, but step in and the layers reveal themselves. People are the same, we judge from a distance instead of taking time to really see them.

Shazia Nabeel**: Getting close to my work is like going inward. My paintings are reflective, a little unresolved and that's deliberate. They leave room for introspection instead of spelling everything out.