Today we’d like to introduce you to Usama Khalid.
Usama, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I immigrated to the United States with my parents in 1997 from Pakistan. I grew up in Irving and traveled back to Lahore every summer. I grew up here for the most part alone and I saw my family once a year when we went back. This constant back and forth informed my existence but I never got around to figuring it all out. When I began to draw and paint, I really focused on identity. I would build up layers of images and media on top of each other, with each layer corresponding to a different emotional and spiritual connection.
As I worked, I occasionally made work about Terrorism and its effects on both Pakistani societies as well as Americans. When I got into graduate school, I focused on evolving my earlier style of work and relational aesthetics. “Relational Aesthetics” was coined by Nicholas Bourriaud in the 1990s to describe art based off of Human relations as well as social context. I started to implement cooking and social gatherings into my work as a way to recall the joy of past family gatherings, as well as bring a more humanitarian aspect to my work. These are currently the two major aspects of my practice today.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Hearing people laugh when I would tell them my name. Or being in Pakistan and not knowing basic societal norms and etiquettes. When traveling, it was being pulled for a “random” security check. Homeland security is visiting the house to talk to me about painting. When I became an adult, then it was more so with depression and anxiety. I felt imposter syndrome at some point. Could I actually talk about these huge topics like terrorism or politics or anything else if I wasn’t directly affected by it? After I was done with my undergraduate, I felt completely disconnected from the art world. It felt hollow and unreal in light of everything else going on in the world, trying to find some sort of platform to help people but remain authentic.
We’d love to hear more about your art.
I make paintings and drawings and sculptures. Recently I’ve begun to experiment in Pakistani-Texas fusion cuisine. The main focus for that is the Lahori Brisket. Texas brisket rubbed down with Punjabi spices and smoked for 10-12 hours. I’m also thinking of other combinations of foods and methods of preparing them. The eventual goal would be to be able to do a BBQ business that is Pak-Tex mix. Eventually, I would like to donate the leftover foods and some of the profits to the Dallas Food banks as well as the homeless shelters. Eventually, When the restrictions are lifted and it is safe, I would like to do block party style BBQs and events. I think that would be important to heal the community with and bring us all together.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have started to draw earlier. Done most of my undergraduate at a community college, and tried to get involved in the community sooner. I also wish I had learned about my own history and my own voice earlier, to do the research earlier.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6015 Llano Ave, Dallas, TX 75206
- Website: chotachaudhrysaab.com
- Phone: 2147939399
- Email: chotachaudhrysaab@gmail.com
- Instagram: chaudhryusamaimran
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100053160193845
Image Credit:
Helen Tran
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