thantreyarts

Yasmeen Fathima Thantrey (she/her/they, b.Nottingham,1996) is an emerging artist and recent graduate from the Royal College of Art, where she pursued her MA in Contemporary Art Practice: Public Sphere. With a passion for exploring identity, the body, and diaspora, their art aims to navigate these complex themes through an intersectional lens. Drawing upon critical race and feminist theories, she situates her lived experiences within a broader societal context, inviting viewers to engage in a dialogue that transcends cultural boundaries.

A firm believer in the lived experience as research, their practice encapsulates a desire to understand the complexities of the self and its interconnectedness with the broader world. Their practice is interdisciplinary, with the medium dependent on the themes being explored. Most recently, textiles, installation, text/voice and moving image have been used to navigate chronic illness, time and adolescence research.

Thantrey’s work is shaped by its socially engaged nature, reflecting her deep belief in the power of art as a tool for positive social change. Her practice is far from solitary, it thrives through knowledge exchange, collaboration and community engagement. Rooted in socio-political issues, her work finds purpose in connecting with the audience and inviting their perspectives and responses. This amalgamation of art, activism, and performance aims to dismantle power structures- often with a touch of satirical humour, her loaded works intentionally disrupt the boundaries of conventional art spaces, challenging the norms of the white cube and institutional environments.

"Often I feel huge tension between the intersections of my identity, rarely finding spaces that can nurture me as a whole. I try to explore these tensions within my practice, aiming to find the sweet spot that can give voice to my experiences with disability, class,gender/queerness, and race as a Pakistani Punjabi woman.”