Naz̤ar is an art-research project that renders migrant experiences into a series of hybrid films, centered on South Asian Muslim communities across several European cities. This work navigates the shifting terrain of ‘visibility’ within migrant realities. Through stories, rituals, and everyday gestures – where visibility can mean both refuge and risk – it listens to echoes of displacement and longing, tracing the ways in which memory, faith, and intimacy are held.
The word Naz̤ar resonates with meanings such as ‘behold,’ ‘gaze,’ ‘surveillance,’ and extends to ‘evil eye’ in several South Asian languages. It carries a weight – sometimes protective, sometimes perilous. Naz̤ar can bless or wound, veil or expose, carry desire or suspicion. It is the unseen residue of looking – a precarious space shaped by the intentions of the beholder.
The project began in Athens, focusing on the neighborhoods around Metaxourgeio, Kypseli, and Attiki. The project in Athens is developed at The Onassis AiR Extended Research Residencies program in Greece.