Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr. (Urdu: ذوالفقار علی بھٹو, Sindhi: ذُوالفِقّارعلِي ڀُٽو; born 1 August 1990)[2][3] is a Pakistani visual artist, performance artist and curator as well as a human rights activist.[4][5] He is a member of the prominent political Bhutto family, and is the grandson of former President and Prime Minister of Pakistan, and his namesake, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Bhutto in 2007 | |
| Born | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto 1 August 1990[1] Damascus, Syria |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Alma mater | San Francisco Art Institute University of Edinburgh |
| Occupation | Textile artist |
| Known for | Wildlife advocacy, LGBT activism |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | See Bhutto family |
| Website | zulfikaralibhuttoart |
Early life and career
editBhutto was born on 1 August 1990 into the Sindhi Bhutto family in Damascus, Syria. He is the son of Murtaza Bhutto, a politician who was assassinated when he was six years old, and Ghinwa Bhutto, who leads the Pakistan Peoples Party of Shaheed Bhutto.[6] He has a half-sister, Fatima Bhutto, from his father's first marriage. He is of Pakistani descent from his father and has Lebanese ancestry from his mother's side.[7][6] Bhutto was named after his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister and President of Pakistan, and is the only male inherent of the Bhutto's family.[6] His grandmother, Nusrat Bhutto, is of Iranian-Kurdish descent. The former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto is his paternal aunt, and her husband and former President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, is his uncle-by-marriage, while his father's brother, Shahnawaz Bhutto, is his uncle. The politician, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is his first cousin.[citation needed]
Bhutto received his Master of Fine Arts degree in 2016 from the San Francisco Art Institute.[8][7][9] He has two undergraduate degrees from the University of Edinburgh.[10]
Bhutto has worked on creative projects such as Mussalmaan Musclemen (2017), The Third Muslim: Queer and Trans Muslim Narratives of Resistance and Resilience (2018), The Alif Series (2019), and Tomorrow We Inherit the Earth (2019).[11][12][4] In 2015, he exhibited an artworks titled ‘The Shrine’, which dealt with the subject of marginalised minorities in Pakistan through photo manipulation, portraiture and conceptual art.[8] Artist and designer Hushidar Mortezaie has worked with Bhutto and designed some of his performance costumes.[2]
In July 2022, he withdrew his participation from the Goethe Institute Film Fest in solidarity with Palestine, as Palestinian activist Mohammed El-Kurd was not invited.[13] Additionally, writer Mohammed Hanif withdrew from the Goethe Institute conference.[13]
Personal life
editBhutto currently lives in Karachi, Pakistan, and identifies himself as a queer.[7][14]
References
edit- ^ Fatima Bhutto. Songs of Blood and Sword. p. 299.
- ^ a b Sultan, Iman (7 August 2020). "Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr. wants you to see a parallel world". Input magazine. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ Winn, Steven (26 October 2018). "'Beyond Gravity' a force of attraction at SF Counterpulse". Datebook | San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ a b Khan, Saira (20 February 2018). "The Scion of a Pakistani Political Dynasty Comes Out". The New York Times.
- ^ "Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Jr talks about his queer politics, drag performances, art and masculinity - Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk.
- ^ a b c Salman, Peerzada (23 June 2017). "Bhutto Jr steps into art world, raises hopes". DAWN.COM.
- ^ a b c "Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Junior: an artist exploring intersection of Islam, sexuality and masculinity". Pakistan Today. 21 February 2018.
- ^ a b Ahmed, Shoaib (13 January 2015). "Zulfikar Junior's portrayal of minorities". Dawn magazine.
- ^ "Zulfikar Ali Bhutto". YBCA. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ Burke, Sarah (16 February 2017). "A 'Prayformance' Confronts Islamophobia, Claims Common Ground". KQED. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ Dinesh, Nandita (14 September 2020). Chronicles from Kashmir: An Annotated, Multimedia Script. Open Book Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80064-020-7.
- ^ Kini, Aditi Natasha (7 February 2018). "A New Exhibit Explores the Art and Identity of Queer Muslims". Vice.com. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ a b "In solidarity with Palestine: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr withdraws from Goethe Institute Film Fest". The Express Tribune. 19 July 2022.
- ^ Kuruvilla, Carol (31 January 2018). "These Queer Muslims Are Using Art To Tell Their Stories". HuffPost.