About ‘her’: Colours of motherhood brought to light

Artists Amra Khan and Naira Mushtaq’s works on display at Colour Gallery.

LAHORE:

The Colour Gallery is hosting a show ‘About Her’ by artists Amra Khan and Naira Mushtaq. The works by the visual artists represented ‘her’ - their mothers.

The two artists met while Naira was studying at the National College of Arts (NCA) and Amra was a teaching assistant there. After discussing the idea for a while, the ‘About Her’ project was born.

Naira completed her bachelors of fine arts in painting from NCA in 2013. “The exhibition is about our mothers. Amra and I had been working on the same concept separately. After discussing the idea, we decided to do it together. We wanted a very intimate space and the Colour Gallery provided us the perfect opportunity,” she says.

Naira’s 16 pieces include 15 oil paintings on canvas, gel transfers and an installation. “I recently lost my mother. Even during her illness, I was drawing her. It helped me deal with the sorrow. I worked with a lot of old photographs. For me, it was really hard to connect with those pictures again, as it felt as if things were disappearing. This is where the idea of generalisation came in. The paintings do not have any faces because I want others to associate with them as well. The titles of the paintings depict the time the photo was taken in and the time frame is from 1965 to 2006,” she says.

Explaining her installation piece, she says: “I associate the aroma of coconut oil that my mother used with her the most. So behind the chair in the installation, I have placed coconut oil scent.”

“The box contains a letter I pestered my mother to write to her mother and my mother’s comb and watch. The letter was for another show that did not happen. However, it resonates with me and I have used it here with her other objects. The watch is a metaphor for time that stands still, when you can neither move forward nor backward,” says Naira.

Amra showcased 43 pieces at the exhibit. She completed her masters in visual arts from NCA in 2012 and is currently teaching at Lahore Grammar School. “I had a very long break and I wanted to go back to work. The best thing to do was start from the basics. I was going through my mother’s things and I wanted to use the stuff I found. I came across these really tiny photos and negatives. When I was getting these old photos printed, the man asked me if I wanted them photoshopped, but I refused because these black spots add to their beauty. I found a lot of old frames from my mother and thrift stores. My mother taught at the Aitchison for 27 years. Everything you see on this side is old, the mantel is old and even the clock is old. It has stopped because that particular time has passed,” says Amra.

Amra then talked about the next item: another clock placed on the table. “This clock is working because it represents me. I had to have another table because this series needed another chapter. This table also features me and my siblings. Here I did not use old photos. It had to be painted because this is something I am living and working on simultaneously,” said Amra says.

Zarah David, the curator at the gallery, said, “I enjoyed the show and loved the display. They both are very talented artists. They have shown their deep feelings for their families through their work. I love it when you can see an artist’s soul in a work of art,” says David. The show continues till February 7.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2rd, 2015.