Noormah Jamal is a young painter from Peshawar, Pakistan, now based in Brooklyn. Her work centralizes her experience of girlhood memories in the region, wanting to reclaim her childhood sense of wonder and fantasy. Her work imagines a realm at the intersection of nostalgia and girlhood imagination, where youthful (mis)understandings of the world colorfully create a world of fantasy and possibility.
Peshawar, near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, is known as the "City of Flowers," but has largely gone dry. In lieu of the gardens of Peshawar's past, Noormah imagines those who have endured the traumas and hardships of Peshawar, particularly young women, as the flowers of the city--blooming and thriving in troubled earth.
While gesturing to the difficult political realities in Peshawar, especially for girls growing up in the region, Noormah's paintings have a deep sense of optimism and affection. Her work engages with folktales from Pakhtun culture, and ultimately finds a new visual language for nostalgia that celebrates girlhood through Noormah's signature aesthetic practice. Composed of deliberate directional brushstrokes, Noormah's mark-making evokes the sensation of memory. While rooted in Peshawar and her specific childhood experiences, her signature style presents a universal and deeply human tribute to the persistence and resilience of young women.