An ambitious, multidisciplinary exhibition by Mehwish Iqbal showcasing newly commissioned textile works
“My practice is grounded in the idea of harmony—how it is made, fractured, and reimagined in times of uncertainty. This body of work comes at a moment of global unrest, shaped by displacement, migration, and the loss of home. In response, I create works that invite reflection, introspection, and hope.”
— Mehwish Iqbal
Bait-al-Nahl – The House of Bees positions the hive as its central motif. A structure of shared habitation, production and nurture, it recalls the human world and communities which ebb and flow around the globe through migration and displacement. ‘Bait-al-Nahl’ refers to Qur’anic verse and the role of the bee which builds its home in the mountains, trees and human structures, producing nectar to provide healing for humankind.
At the centre of her exhibition, Iqbal presents five new handwoven silk works, developed with artisan communities in India, Thailand and Pakistan. Drawing on histories of movement and connection across borders, they reflect women’s communal practice, knowledge and traditions passed down through generations.
Tickets
$18 Adult
$12 Concession & Youth
Free for Members
Dates & Times
31 October 2026 — 14 February 2027
Wednesday – Sunday 10am–4pm
Location
Bundanon Art Museum
170 Riversdale Road Illaroo NSW 2540
Mehwish Iqbal is a multidisciplinary artist working across painting, printmaking, textiles, ceramics, sculpture and installation. Her practice interrogates womanhood, power, migration, and the fragile states shaped by geopolitical conflict. Through community engaged processes, she creates works that respond to the resilience and vulnerabilities of marginalized people across historical and contemporary contexts. Nature forms a vital thread in her work, where animal symbolism, flora and fauna, and archaic references illuminate the tensions between human agency and hierarchical systems.
Iqbal’s recent achievements include major international residencies such as the 2025 DPA Visual Arts Residency at SAC Gallery (Thailand) and the Cité Internationale des Arts residency supported by the Art Gallery of NSW. She was a 2025 Debra Porch Award and Dyason Scholarship recipient, and her work was aquired in the 2025 Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW. Her solo exhibition Shifting Ecologies (2025) at Cité des Arts in Paris further marks her growing global presence.
Related Exhibition
