A Sound Work by Lala Rukh: Subh-e-Umeed

Sounds of daybreak and protest fill Samsung Hall with an atmosphere of awakening and possibility. Subh-e-Umeed marks the first exhibition on the West Coast of work by Pakistani artist and activist Lala Rukh (1948–2017). A sonic archive of a morning in Lahore (the artist's birthplace) during Pakistan's politically fraught Lawyer Movement, Subh-e-Umeed begins with birdsong at daybreak. As a crowd gathers to protest outside the city's High Court, the sound of marching and chanted slogans builds, ending with strands of Hindustani classical music and vocals by Sarah Zaman. "Lala Rukh's practice regularly engaged with music and recordings. In this work, that engagement comes together with her rigorous exploration of inventive, delicate forms of notation to record changes over time," says exhibition curator Padma Dorje Maitland, the Malavalli Family Foundation Associate Curator of the Art of the Indian Subcontinent at the Asian Art Museum. While Subh-e-Umeed is unique as a sound work, it offers a fitting introduction to this influential and dedicated advocate for women's rights, says Maitland, "inviting audiences into the feeling of hope on the cusp of change."