Honouring the victims: Artists pay homage to victims of terrorism

Work involves the use of charcoal on paper, acrylic on canvas and aquatint

ISLAMABAD:

Art is a strong medium to convey a message, and what better way to remember the enormous loss that the country went through last year in Peshawar, then a tribute to the innocent through artworks.

The exhibition “Jamaa, Zarb, Taqseem” (addition, multiply and subtraction) featuring a collection of artwork by Agha Jandan and Saad Ahmed was opened at the Satrang Gallery, here on Thursday.

The artwork, commemorating the memory of the lives lost in the Army Public School massacre on December 16, 2014 include work on charcoal on paper, acrylic on canvas, photo etching, and aquatint.

Gallery Director Asma Rashid Khan said that it was an honour for Satrang to host the exhibition, a collection of work paying homage to all those who had paid a heavy price in the fight against terrorism.  “The artists are paying a tribute not only to the children who lost their lives in the Peshawar attack last year but also to people all over the world who continue to suffer [at the hands of the extremists]”, she said.  The exhibition is a proof that artists are mirrors reflecting the social and historical happenings.

Jandan told The Express Tribune that after graduating from the Karachi Arts Council in 2008, he had been teaching.

“I developed an interest in using blackboard as a medium, ever-since I started teaching. I personally feel it is a very expressive medium as I use it to highlight the disparity between what is taught to kids and what exists in the society”, he said.

Jandan further said that being a teacher and an artist, the Peshawar attack impacted him and his work. He needed to showcase to honour those who became victims of terrorism.

“Though this exhibition, I want to convey certain messages; messages of Iqbal, messages of our roots, culture and religion,” he added.

Ahmed told The Express Tribune that the artists felt very strongly about certain incidents such as the Peshawar attack.

“This work is my comment on the attack. We go through it every day; the security checks, the constant scrutiny and the restriction, and the work displayed in this exhibition is a way to represent that”, he said.

Ahmed, who is a graduate of NCA and is currently teaching print making also mentioned that he used imagery with varied levels of connections to reality.

“The way I have used various techniques and mediums in this recent body of work is interlinked with the concept of a question mark. In a sense, through pixilated and partly-visible images, I am focusing on the uneasiness of unresolved questions, finding an answer to the chaos around us,” he added.

The exhibition balances Ahmed’s bold drawings with Jandan’s subtle paintings of blackboards. Though Jandan’s paintings maybe subtle but the messages on his blackboards leave the viewer thinking, and strike a deep realisation of finality that eventually sinks in.

Ambassador of Argentina Rodolfo Martin-Saravia, who visited the exhibition, appreciated the efforts of the young artists.

The exhibition will continue till January 15, 2016.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2015.