Pakistani-born artist, late 20th century to present, video, performance, and works on paper

Bani Abidi

Bani Abidi (born 1971) is a Pakistani artist working in video, photography, and drawing. Her practice examines nationalism, bureaucracy, and cultural identity, and has been shown in international contexts.

If you have a work attributed to Bani Abidi, contact: india@privatkunst.ch

Privatkunst.ch grew from a personal interest in works that carry a history. There is always more behind a work of art than first appears — and most stories are not yet fully told.

Many objects in private hands were never properly assessed — because no one with the right knowledge looked at them. That has changed. Open research archives, digitised auction catalogues, and image analysis now make it possible to understand a work in new ways and with a depth of information that simply did not exist before. A work rarely stands alone. And it carries its history within it — if you know how to read it.

If you are interested in how archives, reference sources and new technologies are contributing to the assessment of art, see the article here → — currently only in German.

For an overview of Indian art — modern, contemporary, and the recognition women artists are finally receiving — read here →