From Pakistan to Laois – Javeria finds ‘spiritual’ home in return to art
Exhibiting artist Javeria Zain pictured with her husband Zain Khan, with one of her favourite pieces of work
THE first solo art exhibition by Portlaoise-based Pakistan native Javeria Zain, who also is a founding member of Laois Arts Fusion, co-treasurer of Laois Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA) and art representative for the Portlaoise guild, is on show at the Gallery of Divine Inspiration in Bloom HQ, Mountrath.
The exhibition features a collection of 17 original ‘spiritual’ paintings and the launch attracted a crowd of over 40 people, with three of the works selling on the night. The exhibition was launched by Laois Federation ICA president Deirdre Dunne. Deirdre welcomed everyone, congratulated Javira on her first solo art exhibition and complimented her on her many other art and ICA achievements.
In advance of the launch, Javeria told the Laois Nationalist about her exhibition and her life journey.
Taking up her story, Javeria said: “I’ve been drawing since I picked up my first pencil and painting since I picked up my first brush. I have a master’s degree in statistics and spent over five years in corporate roles. The last was as a programme co-ordinator at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Pakistan. I had a successful corporate career, but something was always missing. I got married in 2016, moved from Pakistan to Abu Dhabi, then to Ireland in 2017. Starting over in a new country alone with a small child was harder than I had anticipated. That’s the first time I stopped painting entirely. After we moved to Portlaoise in 2023, everything shifted.
‘‘For months I poured myself into our new life and new home, but I had completely lost myself in the process.
“A friend told me that her therapist told her that when you cannot give time to yourself, how can you expect someone else to do the same for you. Those words struck me and kicked me back to my art corner. My canvas had been sitting primed and textured for over six months. I picked up the paints, brushes and knives without any plan and just started painting. I felt like I was hypnotised and following a voice in my head. I felt my crawling skin, cold hands, my absent mind and just one voice coming directly from my heart.
‘‘Fifty minutes later, I stopped. When I looked at what had just come out, I was shocked. An abstract. An imperfect picture. From a perfectionist? But I had never felt better. Something from the world inside me had been longing to come out and be seen.
‘‘I named that painting Metanoia, a Greek word meaning a profound transformation of heart and mind. From Metanoia came Becoming. And from Becoming an entire series of 17 paintings emerged, each a piece of myself I had not yet met. I named the collection Alchemy of Self.
“Along the way, I became a founding member of Laois Arts Fusion, art representative for the ICA’s Portlaoise guild and won the national Bauman Cup of Art in 2025. This was the first time in the history of ICA that the Bauman Cup of Art came to Portlaoise. I feel so proud of that. I also began running Art by Heart workshops for women because everything I learned through this process felt like my purpose to share. On Friday 3 July, all 17 paintings came together for the first time at the Gallery of Divine Inspiration. I hope that when people walk through that space, they find their lost story, a lost connection and the courage to get it back.” Well-known artist from Ballyfin Kevin McCann is the founder and curator of the Gallery of Divine Inspiration.
Commenting on Javira’s works, Kevin said: “Javeria is a very well set up artist and she is very much on top of her craft. She comes across as very professional. Her marketing is professional and her works are presented and finished very professionally. She told me that the works come from her inner self and she is actually giving workshops to women to help them express their emotions and their feelings into paintings. I must say that Javeria’s work is the upper end of abstract art.” Javeria wishes to thank everyone who attended the launch, Deirdre Dunne, Lucy Conroy, the ICA members, Laois Arts Fusion members, her family members for their “unwavering encouragement,” Kevin McCann and Bloom HQ Mountrath.
The exhibition will remain on display at Bloom for the month of July. Javeria Khan can be found on Facebook. To contact her directly, email javeriyart@gmail.com, phone 087 0632662 or check out her website www.javeriyaart.com.
