As I enter Edinburgh Printmakers, a working studio and exhibition space in a former industrial district of the Scottish capital, a mysterious melody resonates from the mezzanine gallery space. The soundscape develops into a familiar tune – the overture to Rossini’s The Thieving Magpie. But it’s rendered with a twist of sitars, throwing my expectations off as I climb the stairs.
I’m here to meet Aqsa Arif, whose show at Edinburgh Printmakers runs until 2 November. Born in Pakistan in the 1990s, she arrived in Britain as a young child. Her asylum-seeking family were housed in a Glasgow high-rise that would become famous in 2006, when it featured in Sony Bravia’s Paint television commercial.
