Ayesha Jatoi’s text-based works draw on the tradition of Persian miniature painting to explore themes of nostalgia, memory, and desire. In her recent work, Jatoi siphons scenes from classical miniatures into minimalistic compositions of line and text. By translating once-elaborate paintings into terse phrases, Jatoi layers ancient narratives with contemporary language, giving it an anachronistic twist. Her source material is further obscured by the viewer’s impressions of each text; the sentence “A lady awaiting her lover in a forest” might conjure personal references that differ from the intent of the original painting. In this way, Jatoi engages questions surrounding historical accuracy, memory, and the nature of artistic inspiration.