Remembering the forgotten

Sculptures having elongated bodies alongside colourful paintings of domestic scenes, geometric designs, seals and alluring female figures representing ancient art forms reflecting Sindh’s history and traditions welcome visitors at Artscene Gallery, Karachi in a group show titled “New Wave”.

The group exhibition curator Kashif Shahzad brings vibrant works by faculty and alumni of Center of Excellence in Art and Design (CEAD), MUET, Jamshoro, Sindh for Karachiites. The collection of paintings and sculptures by twenty artists revealed rich Sindh’s historical background related to today’s daily life and experiences of common people.

Each artist touched different aspect of life through their art. Every artwork speaks about social issues by using various medium and approach. The basic concept of the artworks lies in the mystics of our land. The stories were woven around social infrastructure and human psyche.

While going through exhibition I took views from the artists about their artworks.

Abdul Malik Channa describing his work in graphite and charcoal said, “How a mother sacrifices for her child is the theme of my work. In our society we see some heart breaking incidents taking place around us. My paintings show that cruel insanity to create awareness in the society.”

Abida Dhari explaining her geometric patterns said, “I may sound like a believer of surrealist manifesto but the truth is that, I feel, what I produce unconsciously is what I want to make actually. But then material and method is what suggests me to think subjectively about my practice. What if we could imagine emotions, memories, perceptions and desires in a pattern what would it look like? It may appear to be a very complex and organized interplay of elements while being a total chaos at the same time. Weird! Yet, I am interested in imagining and creating such patterns.”

Fazal Ellahi Khan said, “The context of this art work is based on the diversity of Chinese Culture, symbols of worth and new directions of life which is portrayed by traditional printmaking technique - Dry point. In another work basic Concern is focused the tangible relations between PAK-China in which I have tried to show an imaginary concept by symbols of peace and amalgam of two cultures.

Kashif Shahzad elaborating his landscape said, “Silence and moods of nature having beauty in each simple element is subject of my painting. Stones, dust, foliage, trees, waves, mountains speak to me whenever I am alone in nature.”

Maham Siddiqui’s theme of work was "The Facts Remain Same While Time Runs Out". Maham explains her work, “A written text is considered as a document whether it is wrong or right. In the same way a bundle of old newspapers contains thousands of stories inside it which are recorded in the past. If looked over thoroughly it is just a bundle of old newspapers but have a vast meaning. The lines which are formed by overlapped Newspapers are like a surface with a very deep hidden meaning.”

Manzoor Ali Solangi talking about his line work said, “A direction, a line is a path to some action or movement as life. In my paintings linear visuals represent the message of peace and a direction to spend life though it’s most simple but having a large meaning hidden inside.”

Usra Shaikh said about her painting, “I see the fascination among the curves and depths of our social lives through the filters of patriarchy. I explore the feelings of love, loss and the emptiness in between.”

Other artists whose works included were: Faiz Supro, Habiba Mughal, Hafsa Shaikh, Jam Depar, Rimsha Talpur, Saba Qayoom Laghari, Shaukat Khokhar, Sundeep, Tooba Shaikh and Zubair Ahmed Bhutto.