eaconhouse National University’s Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design recently held its Degree Show 2023, which presented the works of 15 master’s students from Pakistan and other SAARC countries.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Muhammad Ahmed Shah, president of the Arts Council of Karachi, and Prof Rashid Rana, the MD-SVAD dean. Also present on the occasion were faculty members and chief guests that included Nasreen Kasuri.

The artworks were showcased in the form of installations and projections. The themes highlighted post-humanism, artificial intelligence, socio-political issues, displacement, gender repression and how we are impacting the environment. The artists aimed to raise awareness, as they all seemed to believe in awakening through art.

In his work, Sharif-ul Islam, a student hailing from Bangladesh, highlighted what it means to be an outsider in a country. “I dream of an ideal society,” the artist stated.

Sri Lankan artist Danushka’s A Fossil Being of Images was a retrospect on images as a form of existence in the fast emerging world of artificial intelligence. Her work seemed to inform the viewer of a possible post-human future in which images play a crucial part.

Brishna Amin Khan’s work consisted of five installations each of which portrayed his concept along with the use of interaction through projection and gesture mapping. It reminded the viewer that what goes around comes around.

Each and every artist who exhibited at the degree show seemed to inspire communication between the art and its audience, dealing with “multiple facets of reality, perceived by humans, artificially constructed, parallel versions, subliminal solutions.” 

How do we subconsciously understand the self? This question was explored by Susiman Rinoshan from Sri Lanka. The complexity that lies between our understanding of the self through the lens of the subconscious shaped his work and served as a platform for all those who are often faced with the dilemma of how to distinguish between a known self and an unknown one.

Kunjan Tamang, from Nepal, attempted to make sense of everyday life in his work, titled Everyday Activities and Hidden Labour. Through his eyes, everyday activities are banal or repetitive.

Each and every artist who exhibited at the degree show seemed to inspire communication between the art and its audience, dealing with “multiple facets of reality, perceived by humans, artificially constructed, parallel versions, subliminal solutions.”

The show was multifaceted and diverse in terms of themes as well as the methods usd by the artists to portray those. The dominant mediums of expression were projections and installations. Each individual artwork stood out; each conveyed its meaning; and each reflected the importance of technology in the modern world.

The Degree Show was held from February 6 to 11 at Beaconhouse National University, Lahore