BENEATH THE SAME SKY
by Meherunnisa Asad
2026
Malachite, lapis lazuli, jade, onyx, nephrite, serpentine, afghanite, amazonite, marble, copper, and mirrored glass
Beneath the Same Sky is a meditation on coexistence.
A panther moves beneath a tree of life, its body entwined with flora. Birds take flight above, while below, a fish glides through lotus pads—reminders that every species shares the same sky, the same air, and the same home.
The mirrored surface reflects not only the surrounding space but also the viewer, who completes the composition. In doing so, the work invites us to recognize ourselves as part of this larger web of life and to consider our interdependence and responsibility for one another and the planet.
This spirit of interconnectedness also informs Asad’s practice. She approaches craft as an act of shared authorship, realized through many hands. Produced at Studio Lél—the Peshawar atelier founded by her mother, Farhana Asad, and now under Meherunnisa’s artistic direction—the piece is made by local Pakistani and displaced Afghan craftspeople, whose knowledge and traditions converge in a single surface.
Beneath the Same Sky is the first functional work in War Gardens, Asad’s ongoing series inspired by what grows despite—or even in response to—conflict: the persistence of creation in places marked by violence.
Produced by Studio Lél in Peshawar, Pakistan