Pakistani-American artist Huma Bhabha brings politics to New York's Met rooftop
A Pakistani-American sculptor brings dark times, science fiction and a desire to provoke to New York’s famed Metropolitan Museum of Art for this year’s rooftop installation overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Huma Bhabha’s “We Come in Peace” depicts a towering 12-foot (3.6-meter), five-headed figure weighing 1.5 tons and an 18-foot long prostrate figure covered in a trash bag and called Benaam, or “without name” in Urdu. The installation, which opened Tuesday, is the sixth annual commission at the illustrious US museum’s roof garden, a popular summer spot that draws nearly half a million visitors every year. Karachi-born Bhabha, who lives in New York state’s Hudson Valley, is the first Pakistani American selected for the honor. Imran Qureshi, based in Pakistan, was the first Pakistani artist to present work for the commission, in 2013.