RETURN TO SENDER: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation is a short experimental film (20 min.) directed and produced by Mara Ahmed. South Asian American women recreate vintage images of women who appeared in old British colonial postcards. This symbolic ‘returning’ of the Orientalist gaze is layered with observations about Eurocentric beauty standards, and exotic stereotyping of South Asian women in media and culture. A short multimedia presentation precedes a screening of the film followed by a discussion and Q & A.
Best known for her non-linear multimedia work, interdisciplinary artist Mara Ahmed produces documentaries, soundscapes, and artwork that trespass political borders and challenge colonial logics. A resident of Long Island, Mara was born in Lahore, Pakistan and educated in Belgium, Pakistan and the USA. Her art reflects these displacements and multiplicities.
