Art exhibitions are always a breath of fresh air for art lovers. But there are times when the artist displays more than just creativity and uses their art to put across a certain message.
art
Art exhibitions are always a breath of fresh air for art lovers. But there are times when the artist displays more than just creativity and uses their art to put across a certain message. One such exhibition titled ‘Shama jalti rahi- The candle kept burning,’ by Julius John Alam, was held recently at the Koel Gallery, Karachi. The exhibit was based on the tragedy of Shama and Shahzad Masih, a Christian couple who was ruthlessly burnt alive by a mob in Kot Radha Kishan, Kasur district, Punjab on November 4, 2014. The exhibition managed to move many hearts with the simple artwork that carried a deep message. Read on to find out more.
More on the artist
Julius John Alam is a renowned Lahore-based artist famous for using material indexical of the human body to create images. He received a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts from the National College of Arts, Lahore in 2013 and a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from The New School, New York, NY, USA in 2016. His work has been shown in various shows in Lahore, Karachi, Dubai, Philadelphia and New York. He has also exhibited at the New School for Design, DUCTAC Dubai, Canvas Art Gallery, Taseer Art Gallery, Rohtas II, Gallery 39K and Alhamra Art Gallery. Regarding his work the artist stated, “I use materials such as ash, clothes and water, to create sites of remembrance that memorialize victims of violence. It is the loss of these lives that are memorialized in my work.”
The exhibition
‘The candle kept burning’ was not only based on brutal killing of Shama and Shahzad Masih in Kasur but also depicted those belonging from all the other minorities who were killed unfairly in our country. For those who don’t know, in November 2014, Shama, a 27 year old Christian woman, was set ablaze alive along with her husband by a Muslim mob in Pakistan after they were accused of burning the Quran. She was a mother of three children and was carrying a fourth at the time of her death. This exhibition by Julius basically lamented and mourned deaths that have occurred in the past due to similar circumstances as Shama’s.
According to the facts and figures, since 1980, over 51 lives have been lost as a consequence of the blasphemy law. In the memory of the 51 victims of sheer brutality, the artist made equal sized 51 books using latha, the fabric used to wrap a dead body before burial. Each book was made for each non-Muslim victim and was placed on marble slabs fixed over bricks. The image of the books, some open some closed, symbolised bodies of victims laid out before their burial. The books had been 
stitched by a single red thread which pointed at the violence faced by people in their everyday lives. The exhibition helped viewers feel the pain of those who lost their lives and also aimed at draw attention towards the growing religious intolerance and lost inter-faith harmony. The exhibit provoked a sense of empathy and sympathy amongst the attendees and made many wonder why we impose a set pattern of rules and principles on people. The display also brought to light how unsafe we are in this nation and how violence plays an integral role in everyone’s life.
The most striking feature of the exhibition was the topic that was addressed - minority killings, a subject that is avoided by most. Hence, the artist used artwork as the perfect platform to explain the pain, loss and fear without the use of any words. Such exhibitions are perfect to speak of matters that are otherwise avoided or ignored by the public and we look forward to such morally enlightening art displays.
