Adeela Suleman

Adeela Suleman (born 1970, Karachi, Pakistan) is a contemporary Pakistani sculptor and artist, based in Karachi. She is known for the social and political commentary underlying her sculptures, which are created out of mundane, everyday objects.

Suleman was an associate professor at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture and served as head of the Fine Arts Department at the university from 2008 to 2019. She is also the founding member and director of Vasl Artists' Association. and then acquired a master's degree in international relations from the University of Karachi in 1995. After this, she switched her focus to art, completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture in 1999.

Career Suleman's work takes domestic objects and materials from everyday life and transforms them into sculptures. These pastoral images are juxtaposed with symbols of destruction like weapons; the contradiction in these images signifies the indifference of society to the violence present within it.

Exhibitions Suleman's work has been exhibited in both national and international exhibitions. Some of her exhibitions Sea Triennial, Jakarta (2013), Asia Triennial II, Manchester (2011), Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale (2002) and the Karachi Biennale (2017)

Karachi Biennale 2019 Suleman's installation "Killing Fields of Karachi", an exhibition on the 444 extra-judicial killings by Rao Anwar, a former Malir SSP (Senior Superintendent), was destroyed by law enforcement agencies. This sparked protest among Pakistani artists, academics and activists. The artist collective Creative Process Projects demanded that the Biennale and its organizers stand in support of Suleman. The call was endorsed by Sheema Kermani, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Marvi Mazhar and others.

In a statement, organizers of the Karachi Biennale said: "With regards to the exhibition in question, we feel that despite the artist's perspective, it is not compatible with the ethos of KB19 whose theme is 'Ecology and the Environment'."

The statement added that "politicizing the [Biennale] platform will go against our efforts to bring art into the public and drawing artists from the fringe to the mainstream cultural discourse". Suleman is a founding member of Vasl Artists' Association and the current Director of the company.