Artist Aroosa Rana rose to prominence this weekend with the opening of her exhibition ‘The Golden Ratio – Math of Beauty’, held at the Canvas Art Gallery in Karachi on March 24. Her work explores the golden ratio through imagery and representations of Gaza, examining how a symbol of harmony can be reframed to reflect devastation and loss.

“I overlay the golden ratio onto images of Gaza, commenting on how a symbol of classical harmony is used to frame devastation. The spiral, associated with divide proportion & visual perfection, becomes a form of camouflage,” Rana said. 

Further, the artist reflected on how imposing order and artistic structure upon ruins allows her work to question the ways in which beauty can aestheticise violence. “The competition guides the eye, softens rupture, and risks turning suffering into something consumable,” she said.

Rana employs the golden ratio, a mathematical concept defined as a relationship in which the ratio of two quantities is equal to the ratio of their sum to the larger quantity, in works such as The Golden Triangle and The Golden Divide. Rana uses art to visualise the tragedies of war zones and convey the loss of innocence among those caught in conflict.

Artworks from the exhibition. Courtesy: Fahim Siddiqi / White Star 

Rana is an acclaimed interdisciplinary artist and art educator who has exhibited her work at national and international forums, museums, and biennials, participating in various group shows including the Dhaka Art Summit in 2014 and Extra Ordinary in Karachi in 2013. Her current exhibition will remain open for viewing until April 2, 2026.