“مدت” Ages, durationAmna Ilyas · 2020

A Letter to Pandemic: I have been trying to listen to my inner chords. This isolation has made me realise that I have been on a rollercoaster, making it impossible for me to sit and scratch those ‘Circles’ (دائر ے) strange that there isn’t anything to do but I still feel busy inside my head. You have given me an opportunity to eat, breathe and sleep with my work. I am able to talk to myself. I can read, write and take time to reflect. You have changed virtually everything. The future has been cancelled or at least postponed. It is as if we are locked inside from ‘Ages’ (مدت), waiting for the day to come: A day of celebration most probably… It was forbidden to go out. That feeling of being ‘Confined’ (محاصر) was a soul-stirring experience. I can’t thank you enough. It’s because of you that I am able to even write this; perhaps a chance to reflect on what art has become and what it can be when we re-emerge.