LONDON.- US-based artist Mahwish Chishty, born in Pakistan and raised in Saudi Arabia, opened her first solo international exhibition at IWM London with a selection of 2D and 3D works from her Drone Art series. She is exhibiting her most recent drone model Reaper for the first time.

The exhibition features a mixture of sculptural paintings on wood, painted drone models and works on paper. Each piece reflects Chishty’s training in traditional miniature painting and many are painted in the style of colourful Pakistani folk art. Inspired by a trip to Pakistan in 2011, Chishty uses her pieces to comment on the ongoing drone war in the country.

Struck by the pervasive and constant presence of foreign drones in Pakistan, Chishty’s designs combine symbols of violence and contemporary warfare with Pakistani artistic and cultural traditions. They highlight how foreign unmanned aircraft have become a feature of the physical, psychological and cultural environment of the country. The exhibition display evokes this reality, as drone models and sculptural paintings are placed throughout the gallery, sometimes above eye level without frame or glass barriers, protruding from the walls to seemingly surround and hover above the viewer.

Each piece also blends traditional techniques with contemporary practice and provides layers of meaning within the works. For example, the patterns of the painted drones echo the decoration used by haulage trucks across Pakistan to adorn their vehicles. Tea-stained paper creates a neutral background but also alludes to the brown tone of aerial photographs taken from drone surveillance footage. Photographs of Pakistani street scenes taken by local news media are transferred and overlaid directly onto her sculptural paintings of drones, referencing their constant and commonplace presence.

This exhibition marks the first time IWM shows work by a non-British artist who has direct links with the region where this type of war is fought, and reflects the current state of globalised conflict. It is part of the IWM Contemporary programme, which is dedicated to creating exhibitions by leading artists and photographers whose work is a response to war and conflict. Mahwish Chishty is the most recent exhibition in the programme, and follows shows by artists including Omer Fast, Hew Locke, Imogen Stidworthy, Nick Danziger and Edward Barber.