Pakistani artist Nusra Latif Qureshi was trained as a painter of miniatures, in the Mughal tradition, which was brought from Persia in the 16th century. The practice became a way that she could frame her personal experiences in the context of contemporary politics. Echoing John Berger’s notion that “all painting is about the presence of absence,” her upcoming exhibition at Monash University centers on her career-long exploration of absences that are important to her. These include how the traditional art historical canon refuses multiple perspectives, the seconded status of women in patriarchal societies, and the ways borders prevent people from freely moving to and from the places they need to reach. —Jimmy Lux Fox