We’ve Been Waiting for You
Justice Project Pakistan
Presented on 10 October 2019, We’ve Been Waiting for You was a collaborative performance art exhibition by House Ltd., Highlight Arts, and Justice Project Pakistan, commemorating the 17th Annual International Day Against the Death Penalty. Curated by Natasha Jozi, with creative direction by Ryan Van Winkle, the project brought together eleven artists across ten live performances that examined themes of power, isolation, state violence, and the politics of life and death.
The exhibition responded to the realities of capital punishment in Pakistan, where debates surrounding the death penalty extended beyond questions of justice to include issues of wrongful conviction, mental health, institutional violence, and the disproportionate impact of state power on vulnerable communities. Rather than offering direct representations of incarceration, the performances explored the emotional, psychological, and political dimensions of confinement, vulnerability, security, and survival, inviting audiences to reflect on the broader systems that regulate and control human life.
Staged at Lahore’s historic Bari Studio, one of Pakistan’s most significant film studios, the project activated a site long associated with storytelling and cultural production. By transforming the studio into a space for live performance, the exhibition expanded the possibilities of public engagement with contemporary art while connecting performance practice to urgent social and human rights concerns.
Each artist approached the subject through a distinct performative language, employing the body as a site of resistance, testimony, memory, and collective reflection. Together, the works created a multifaceted dialogue around justice, agency, and the ethical responsibilities of both institutions and citizens within societies where violence is legitimised through state structures.
The exhibition attracted an audience of more than 800 visitors, bringing together members of the local community, artists, activists, students, and the wider public. By situating performance art within a human rights framework, We’ve Been Waiting for You demonstrated the capacity of embodied artistic practice to foster public dialogue around complex social and political issues, further advancing House’s commitment to positioning performance art as a vital form of critical engagement in Pakistan.
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