Ghost Ball

Salman Toor paints scènes involving characters (harlequins, sad clowns, and marionettes) between comedy and dreams and scattered with references to the history of western art. He imbues them with a contemporary queer tonality that stands in opposition to the generally homophobic context in which he grew up in Pakistan. 

His work explores the vulnerability of one’s identity, duplication, and the anxiety or apprehension of the image one projects of oneself. His characters search for their place, feeling both isolated and in company, as in the dances in Ghost Ball, a swirling composition whose green background evokes an unreal, nocturnal ambiance—and the toxicity of poison.