LAHORE
Internationally acclaimed ceramist Sheherezade Alam is set to exhibit the work of her collective at Studio 90, showcasing ten aspiring and established ceramists alongside herself on April 2 and 3 from 11am to 6 pm, Upper Mall.
Titled ‘Our Clay Legacy’, the Studio 90 Collective as mentored by Sheherezade Alam, will be presenting the work of Amjad Ali Daudpota, Aqsa Khan, Afshan & Nosheen, Faiqa Lone, Ibtisam Saleem, Kalsoom Mehmood, Amna Shariff, Rabia Oneeb and Waseema Saleem. The two-day open house will exhibit a range across 150 pieces from jewellery to masks, bowls, pots and more.
Our Clay Legacy reflects Sheherezade Alam’s continued drive to take ownership to celebrate, reinterpret and revive our regions rich clay heritage, one that is over 11000 years old and which dates back to the ancient civilisations of the Indus Valley and Harappa. It endeavours to connect the community with artists and establish an educational and social connection for the public, making accessible to them the value of our heritage.
“The Studio 90 Collectives’ very ethos is one which rests of the need to re-learn how to be intimated with clay so we can breathe life again.
Our vision is to engage with the five elements; earth, fire, water, air and ether to create vessels that relocate, reflect and preserve to continue what is vanishing– our clay heritage. Indeed Clay chose me so that the earth would dance in my hands. I have learned through this process everything that is important to know in life.
The grand tradition and the contemporary are embedded in the vessels formed by these hands. These pots relocate reflect and preserve the continuity of the disappearing,” said Sheherezade Alam.
Sheherzade Alam is the first person in South Asia to be elected to the membership of ‘The International Academy of Ceramics’, Switzerland who continues to mentor a generation of artists. An alumnus of the National College of Arts, Lahore, where she majored in design, her exposure to pottery came through regular visits to the Shahdara Pottery Development Centre during her college years, and her early works were inspired by the vernacular pottery forms. Her later works derive inspiration from the different pottery traditions of places that she travelled, such as Turkey, Iran, Greece, Italy, Japan, China, UK and Scandinavia. Currently her work is on display at a Unesco funded exhibition called ‘Re-discovering Harappa’ at the Lahore Museum.
Amjad Ali Daudpota, Kashikar (Traditional Ceramist): Belonging to a family of practicing traditional KashiKari, he found himself developing an interest in the traditional KashiKari, and Revival of traditional KashiKari Art work.
Aqsa Khan: Aqsa completed her Bachelors from NCA in Ceramic Design in 2015. All of her product designs are based upon function and aesthetics. Ibtisam Saleem: In 2011 at Sheherezade Alam’s studio Ibtisam was finally able to explore her intriguing consciousness and passion for clay.
Kalsoom Mehmood: Is a ceramist from Balochistan who graduated from NCA with a distinction. Her work is inspired from her land.
As a daughter of the soil, her intrinsic desire is to connect to her people through clay as her medium of choice to rediscover and celebrate the beautiful relationship of people with their environment.
Amna Shariff: After her Master’s degree in Mass Communication in 1988, Amna worked as a journalist both at the desk and as a freelance columnist for eight years. Having had her fill, she moved to a more creative and entrepreneurial endeavor and opened an art and craft gallery called Sim Sim in 1994.
Rabia Oneeb: Rabia graduated from NCA in 2004 with a Major in Sculpture. Her work was based on creating sculptures that showed movement, balance and visual interest.
