Artist Nadeem Alkarimi looks to our ancestors for ecological wisdom

“Being part of Cultural Reforesting has been a transformative experience for my artistic practice. 

As an indigenous filmmaker from the Hunza Valley, my work (Karakoram Anomaly) explores the erosion of sustainable rituals and the paradox of ‘progress’ how, despite higher literacy rates, we’ve lost the ecological wisdom of our ancestors who turned barren lands into fertile grounds. This project has allowed me to frame these urgent questions in a poetic dialogue with other international artists, despite language and cultural barriers. 

What moves me most is the collective unlearning and relearning happening among collaborators in this project. Each artist’s process mirrors my own journey: dismantling societal biases ingrained since childhood to rediscover authenticity. Here, I’ve found rare solidarity — a space where diverse perspectives don’t compete but compound, revealing shared truths about humanity’s relationship with nature. The resonance between our stories, whether from the Amazon, or the Karakorams, confirms that indigenous knowledge isn’t local, it’s universal.  

While I’ve long dreamed of a 90-minute film to archive vanishing traditions, this cross-cultural chapter has sharpened my vision. Above all, the project reminds me that ‘reforesting’ culture begins with tending to the roots—our interconnectedness.” 

– Nadeem Alkarimi 

Nadeem’s film, Karakoram Anomaly, in the River Sublime film trilogy is currently on view at Orleans House Gallery until 21 September 2025 in the exhibition Imagining the Forest.  

Here, Nadeem shares powerful scenes from his project ‘The Wedding Ceremony of Male and Female Glaciers’. Like Karakoram Anomaly, this project explores the eroisionerosion of sustainable rituals, such as how the Hunza people encourage the formation of new glaciers. 

Nadeem Alkarimi is an award-winning indigenous filmmaker and visual artist whose work explores the fragile beauty of human connection, tradition, and change. Merging narrative storytelling with documentary realism, his films have been celebrated globally, shedding light on marginalised voices and vanishing ways of life. 

‘Imagining the Forest’ is supported by the British Council and is a partnership between Richmond Arts Service, the Karachi Biennale and the Guarani Mbya community of São Paulo.