Thesis show: ‘Piety is nothing to show off’

Artist comments on exploitation of religious beliefs for personal profit

LAHORE: Raj Kumar says his thesis is a comment on exploitation of religious beliefs and practices for personal profit.

He is among the 13 masters of visual arts graduates whose theses are on display at the National College of Art’s Zahoorul Ikhlaq Gallery. The works cover a range of formats including paintings, drawings, sculptures, video and photographic installations.

Kumar, who belongs to Hyderabad, Sindh, says he had made prayer mats using playing dice. “I have used the dice to represent greed. I’ve highlighted the exploitation of religious beliefs for personal profit,” he says.

He has also made prayer beads using terracotta penny banks. “The use of penny banks is to accentuate the personal aspect of faith. Prayers should be for God. People should not show off their piety,” he says.

His third product is a dart board with an interactive installation titled Halal and Haram (permissible and forbidden). He says the target in the centre represents all that is permissible. “One needs to stay focused to remain on the right path,” he says.

Bushra Javed, who belongs to Abbottabad, says her thesis, comprising four paintings (oil and acrylic) on canvas, is about the process of making a painting. She says she has painted images inspired by ordinary experiences of everyday life. She says she is used to painting impromptu. She says that instead of researching a particular topic or developing a storyboard she seeks inspiration from photographs and videos made when she’s outdoors. “I capture on camera market places and other busy areas. Sometimes, an object from my collection inspires me and I use it to paint,” she says.

Mir Jabal’s work, Trapped in Reality, includes video installations in a box and on fabric. A video showing the image of a boy trying to get out of the screen is put on loop on the LED screen fitted on one side of wooden box. “He’s stuck in a confused state and wants to see what is beyond his immediate reality,” he says.

He says the layers of fabric around the other screen were meant to represent sensory and intellectual levels of reality. He says through his work he has tried to represent the angst of a life replete with hope, conflict and upheavals.

Ayesha Khaliq says she has sought inspiration for her three installations and five sculptures from plant-, animal- and bird- forms. About the use of hair clips in her work, she says as a woman she can relate to the object.

Safia Sher says her work is based on the importance of the subconscious mind. She says she has tried to visualise images from her subconscious state. Among the materials she has used are metal sheets. She has created patterns on the sheet by pouring acid on it. I have tried to alter the viewer’s perception about the subconscious state of being.  Quddus Mirza, officiating head of the Fine Arts Department, says the works on display stresses the idea that rather than proposing solutions artists should be asking questions.  The exhibition will continue till December 28.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2015.