I remember a few vague sentences by Eric Spiekermann, a celebrated German designer/ typographer, in one of his video interviews that people are circulating on social media that as a new language develops, new grammar and rules evolve too. It is no different when it comes to visual vocabulary. The associated grammar to support the form and structure too is ever-evolving: there is Twitter language and Instagram language; the list goes on. New tools and technologies enable artists/ designers to generate up-to-the-minute interactive dialogues with ideas.

A viewer can effortlessly see fascinating biomorphic studies in Rameesha Azeem’s solo exhibition, My World Afloat. An eye-catching investigation of fragmented body parts from a biological perspective and fundamental studies acquired from Nature – emphasising the artist’s fascination with the ability to postulate a parallel “inside facade” and a parallel “outside core.” The artist has indicated her “preference to work with the elementary forms and to simultaneously aim to resolve organic, mechanical and technological expressions using various mediums.”

An attention-grabbing feature piece is made out of planks of rosewood tree or sheesham, seasoned for a few months before inlaying the raindrop shaped mother of pearls titled One Drop Every 30 Minutes. It appears as an enormous piece in terms of scale and certainly is the simplest yet marvellous part elucidating multiplicity. It has been rendered immaculately. One can appreciate the dynamism of a creative practitioner challenging the binaries between the artist and the craftsman — informing, empowering and respecting each other’s thought processes.

Approaching the drawings hung against dark grey walls, Estranged Perspectives 1-6, is a new experience. There is emotional mark-making, colourlessness and gravitational movement in various textures, forms and sizes. At first glance, these drawings look like gouache paintings. Then there is a realisation that the layers of minuscule graphite strokes should be seen in the manner of the aquatints — opaque and translucent, yet solid.

She uses rubber to take a cast of an ankle or a wrist and leave it for a few days — before she starts drawing the aged sculptural manifest as a reference point. Her visual epilogues speak of an awareness of anti-commodification and anti-capitalism.

One may be deceived at first by the stack of colourful three-dimensional printed pieces, titled Unity Pyramid, mainly jaw dentures of all shapes and sizes arranged in multiple tiers using the social stratification model commonly found in the social science textbooks and over the internet. But then one approaches hundreds of human cells, also modelled using computer-aided design and additive manufacturing technology placed in the manner ofsupermarket aisles using the glass shelves and the wooden boxes. This suggests a protective outerwear made for the most fragile organisms floating in our body. This form of work offers a manifesto that directs one to look into the commodification of and the art in general for industrial societies.

On one level of the newly-built gallery, Azeem’s large and medium-sized canvases offer another opportunity for exploration. There is the withdrawal of a silent protester – “individual units of private, historical or implausible times about a certain person, place, event or concept.” Her ultimate aim is to explore problem-solving at the micro- and macro-levels. This itself is a tall claim as any solution reached in a particular timeframe can lead to more problems later even as it strengthens the evolutionary processes.

Everything is connected and the search for solutions often requires being alert to unlikely connections in her work. There is a clear distinction between the metamorphosis of feelings and obstructed subjectification as colours are butted on large surfaces using various brush strokes in constantly changing hues.

Last but not the least, the blood-red animated cell floating in a very subtle manner on a giant projection wall at the top floor of the gallery is reminiscent of one of the lava lamps from the late 1960s invented by Edward Craven Walker that symbolised all things countercultural and psychedelic. This piece provides an opportunity to explore trans-disciplinarity where one can experience serenity and calmness despite the scepticism. Today we have new visuals appearing all the time on our scrolling social walls and yet there are things it is essential to remember and act upon. Ignoring the existing timelines altogether and thinking/ acting like a new timeline generator is quite a challenge.

Overall, the show is a great experience. It could have had greater sequential and curatorial cohesion but for a few missing links. Yet, Rameesha Azeem’s viewpoint and energy are impressive.

She has used her innate skill of dealing with multiple mediums simultaneously to tell a story of a life’s struggle on an everyday basis. It can be anybody’s life. It addresses both our conscious and subconscious tussles. It challenges the societal norms and values. Her concerns are deeply rooted in the evils of classism. She strives for the truth by mixing up with all classes to develop a pattern informed by a particular sensibility. Her creative practice enables one to form polymorphic thought progression and nurtures a longing for an avatar that is both competitive and interactive.

The exhibition runs from March 12 – April 9, 2022 at Haam Gallery, Lahore.

The author is an art/ design critic. He heads   the  Department of Visual Communication   Design  at Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts & Design, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore