Queen of the Night (Raat Ki Raani) – Alina Akbar

Queen of the Night (Raat Ki Raani)

Alina Akbar

Haji Cash & Carry, Rochdale
26 – 29 March 2026

Alina Akbar’s debut solo exhibition Queen of the Night (Raat Ki Raani) explores the images and feelings of a scene rich in ease and discomfort: the intense emotions and companionship between young Muslim girls in a car after nightfall. 

It’s not a topic we’ve learned to expect from exhibited work. But the Rochdalian’s dedication to South Asian and Muslim communities – particularly in the North West – has frequently pushed her output into the unconventional, into a place of curiosity more interested in contrast than conformity.

There is a beautiful honesty that permeates Raat Ki Raani, the artist’s takeover of Rochdale’s Haji Cash and Carry warehouse. As a Bengali woman myself, the utter focus on Asian girlhood stirred familiar emotions. Anxieties around parents, marriage, and the future bubble up, only to be calmed by my friends’ soft voices and the sound of humming tyres on the road.

Akbar’s skill lies in her ability to envelope viewers in abstractions without losing the ability to communicate cultural experiences of Northern Asian youth. The 26-year-old has a keen visual language that articulates the texture of experience better than words ever could. This is probably best captured in the solely interactive portion of the exhibition, where 3D-printed bubble wands constructed from Arabic calligraphy depicting Ayatul Kursi allow the audience to blow prayers of protection. There is a distinct contrast between the playfulness of the pieces and their quiet melancholy: a large inflatable pink vape named Lost Maryam; Punjabi parandas braided around car jump leads; and a Nissan Micra in the centre of the exhibition space, from which recordings of late-night car conversations between can be heard. These contrasts never feel at odds or unearned. It is a testament to Akbar that the artifice of a light box depicting a chicken shop (local favourite Miami Crispy) can feel so natural.

Although the pieces themselves were thought-provoking, praise in the room seemed to be dominated by the spectacle of the venue itself – the endless shelves of the HAJI Cash and Carry warehouse looming over the installations. This warehouse’s presence above seemed to fuel the atmosphere in the room, both artists and locals feeling the child-like naughtiness of occupying a forbidden place after hours. Audience chatter between sips of Chaiiwala chai filled the room, and at some points, drowned out the conversations playing from the car. While the poignancy of Asian girlhood and the drama of the cash and carry were powerful to experience, what tied the two together was not as immediately clear.

Ultimately, as always with Akbar’s work, I left the exhibition feeling that much of it had been stripped from my own life. It is not common for South Asian women to have their experiences so genuinely communicated. Spaces which showcase our small rebellions from our cultures and communities are in short supply.

Raat Ki Raani’s run lasted only four days, but for me its impact lingers in that wonderful feeling of being understood through art.

all image credits to @d.w3rt