Bio

Nadia Shaukat is a British-Asian Pakistani artist based in London, dividing her time between London and Lahore. She completed her postgraduate studies in painting at Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London, in 2005.

Her practice moves fluidly between abstraction and representation, often combining both to create layered visual narratives. Drawing on influences from Mughal-era painting and Western modernists such as Henri Matisse, her work explores bold colour, flattened perspectives, and a delicate balance of subtle and vibrant hues. Geometry, botanical forms, and stylised human figures frequently appear, contributing to a distinctive visual language.

Working across painting, sculpture, installation, and photo collage, Shaukat engages a wide range of materials and approaches. Her work has received multiple awards and is held in public and private collections internationally, including the National Art Gallery in Islamabad, SCCA in Almaty, and several major institutions in Lahore, as well as private collections across Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia.

Artist Statement

My work explores the intersection of physical, psychological, and imaginary surroundings, shaped by a life lived across different global landscapes.

I translate my immediate environment into a personal vision — one that weaves together two worlds; Outer and Inner. The “outer world” is daily experiences, city walks, family history, and the random marks found on urban surfaces. Yet the “inner world” explores femininity, desire and fantasy.

By integrating these two apparently contrasting worlds into paintings and mixed-media collages I seek to reveal the underlying connections between these facades of reality. My process is an act of archiving both the tangible world and the internal recollections of a life in motion, ultimately creating an abstract map of a multifaceted identity.

Rooted in my South Asian background and classical aesthetic traditions, colour remains a central protagonist in my practice. I view image-making and colour as inherently bound; for me, a painting must achieve a balanced visual harmony to resonate. This active relationship between form and colour is expressed through a palette of gold, pure blues, reds, and yellows. By utilising these bold, sensuous hues, I bridge the gap between abstract imagery and a decorative, design-like appeal, revealing the interconnected facades of reality that define my multifaceted identity.

CV