Shahzia Sikander's Afloat beautifully incorporates many of the symbols and materials the artist has used to great effect in much of her unique work. Here, the she has used the idea of layering as part of the printing process, creating veiled images by thinly printing transparent colors of ink on both sides of a fragile, translucent paper. In areas of this print the effect resembles chine-colle and is a subtle reference to Sikander's installations, which incorporate overlapping sheets of thin, tissue-like or onionskin paper to achieve a similar effect. The strands of pearls, flaming tree and curvaceous feminine figures have all made other appearances in the Sikander's oeuvre, whether in miniature form or writ large. Afloat is included in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, NY, the Brooklyn Museum, NY, the Toledo Museum of Art, OH,  the Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, the Wooster Museum of Art and the New York Public Library, NY.