Dast-e-Tah-e-Sang, Salima Hashmi’s retrospective exhibition at COMO Museum of Art, is now open and will remain on view…
Dast-e-Tah-e-Sang, Salima Hashmi’s retrospective exhibition at COMO Museum of Art, is now open and will remain on view until 31 January 2027.
The title, Dast-e-Tah-e-Sang—“Hand Under the Stone”—comes from a phrase by the poet Ghalib. When Faiz Ahmed Faiz was asked by his wife Alys to explain its meaning, he described the stone as representing an individual’s personal ideology and beliefs—not any particular religious or political affiliation—that they cannot “remove their hand” from if they truly value it. He described this as a heavy responsibility that could not be abnegated, and his own “stone” was humanism.
Salima Hashmi has said that this explanation made a deep impression on her and shaped her own thinking and ideology.
The exhibition brings together more than a hundred artworks, ranging from the 1960s to the present day, with several works on loan from public and private collections. Archival material from the artist’s studio offers a glimpse into the thought processes behind Hashmi’s diverse practice, encompassing her chosen medium of visual arts as well as her interest in theatre and the liberal arts.
“Art should be committed. It should attempt to reveal facets of the truth and it should always be moving forward. It shouldn’t attempt to revive the past but there should be an awareness of the past. And it should be full of humanism and a desire to enrich the lives of people.”
— Salima Hashmi, December 1997, The Nation
