This kind of unhealthy mindset breeds toxicity among South Asian females, an issue that Qamar illustrates through her own work. Something I have heard from multiple adults throughout my childhood was, “be friendly, but too friendly.” In other words, be careful of your company and be sure to keep your relationships strictly “surface-level.” While this piece of advice may come with good intentions, I have seen it morph into issues of secrecy, mistrust, and gossip. She illustrates how South Asian women (and women in general) are told to exist within the boundaries that have already been drawn for them. Qamar does well to incorporate these subliminal messages into her artwork, showing how they can be sexist, misogynist, and downright rude.

Oftentimes in South Asian culture, there are certain ideals that females are meant to uphold. One of my favorite installations was an image (attached) of two desi girls saying the phrase, “That’s my didi from another bibi,” which translates to, “That’s my sister from another aunty.” Having visited the gallery with one of my close friends, who is also South Asian, I smiled at this particular picture and felt grateful for her company. It looked like she had ripped out pages from Trust No Aunty and blew them up as murals that covered an eight foot wall. The Richard Taittinger Gallery is a confined space with white walls acting as blank canvases, making Qamar’s art even more striking and vibrant. Looking around the gallery, I could see how Qamar visualized this concept through her artwork. Qamar named her summer show FRAAAANDSHIP! to highlight how the use of the term “on social media and communication platforms such as Instagram, Whatsapp, and Facebook, takes on a sexual, and potentially shady connotation.” Often times, the offers of “fraaaandship” come totally unsolicited and are sent by older men in the desi community.

Her multicultural identity inspired her to start sharing her comic-strip-type illustrations on an Instagram account hatecopy) where she gained a fanbase of desi girls all over the world. Qamar was born in Karachi, Pakistan to a father from Bangladesh and a mother from Gujarat, India. Trust No Aunty is a humorous “survival guide” for South Asian youth in which Qamar speaks about her experience as a South Asian immigrant. Qamar is an artist and author of Trust No Aunty, a book I was gifted last year and instantly fell in love with. Last summer I walked into the Richard Taittinger Gallery, a cozy little nook in the East Village, excited to see Maria Qamar’s cartoon characters come to life.

Trust no aunty by maria qamar