From Samya in Karachi: "Recently before the lockdown I decided to give my laptop for repair for some long ignored issues. Little did I know that soon everything would get shutdown, and I would not have my laptop on me for a long time. Imagine my laptop as my spirit animal of a technological sort. I do not go anywhere without my laptop, which a lot of people living in unpredictable Karachi will tell you is not a wise idea. And a lot of stuff I do is on my laptop including most of my work which makes me sound like a hermit but I’m not, I used to be a very outdoorsy person before all this.
Coming back to my laptop predicament, which has actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Not only did I get to take a break from constantly staring at a screen but I somehow got inspired and motivated enough to paint again after a lot of years. I ended up creating this little work station for myself in my very sunny studio which also has a balcony with a somewhat pacifying view of roofs and treetops. I started by painting a poster for a pending documentary project on women learning to swim in Sri Lanka, it’s still a work in progress but next I plan to just paint for myself. I’ve gotten these neon acrylic paints which I’m really excited to use. I also loved rediscovering how much I love painting, how you can get lost in it and forget time, and how soothing it can be. In that aspect I’m grateful to have this space and time to create something for myself.