Art exhibition: Parveen Shakir’s words visualised

Female artists pay homage to women, their struggles

ISLAMABAD: An exhibition titled “Rafaqaton ke naye khwab khushnuma hain magar/ Guzar chuka hai teray aitbaar ka mausam” after a Parveen Shakir couplet, went on display at Nomad Art Gallery here on Wednesday.

The exhibition features miniatures and oil-on-canvas paintings by female artists – Anjum Ayub, Samreen Asif, Farrah Mahmood and Tayyaba Aziz.

Starting just ahead of International Women’s Day, the exhibition’s theme is the struggle of women and their multifaceted roles in society. The artists have used their preferred mediums, so while Tayyaba used oil-on-canvas, the others made use of miniature art to reflect their inspiration on paper.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Nageen Hyat, director of Nomad Art Gallery said that she welcomed all artists, but as a strong advocate of women empowerment, she was most appreciative of talented women who wanted to display their work.

“This exhibition also displays the work of four extremely talented female artists who have used the power of their artwork to highlight the struggles of women and their roles in the society, which makes it even closer to my heart,” she said.

She further said that an art piece was never the end product of an artist’s inspiration, thinking or reflection, but rather, once completed, the artwork was for the viewer to interpret.

She said that the artists exhibiting their work were heavily inspired by their own life experiences and poetic preferences.

This poetic reference is clearly manifest in all the paintings, yet each artist has also retained her own unique voice. For instance, Farrah’s work specifically deals with social and political issues whereas Tayyaba tries to interpret thoughts and feelings. Similarly, Samreen Asif plays with the hope of women for freedom and Anjum depicts the various relationships a woman nurtures throughout her life.

Farrah Mahmood told The Express Tribune that she feels abuse of power was the root cause of many of society’s problems and which she tried to reflect in her work.

Tayyaba Aziz calls herself a cubo-expressionist – a combination of cubism, which is a technique of presenting geometric forms in abstract works; and expressionism, a technique of using distortion and exaggeration for emotional effect. “My paintings are based on one of my favourite poets, Parveen Shakir,” she said.

Samreen Asif, on the other hand, believes her work depicts women’s hope of freedom without incorporating any dramatic techniques. “This artwork is my attempt to dig out the hidden portions of Parveen Shakir’s struggle for women’s expression of feelings,” she said.

Anjum Ayub said her work tends to reflect a contemplation of life through a lens that has been sharpened by maturity, motherhood and relationships. “My artwork is a consistent devotion to the act of focusing on the wonderful bounty all around me,” she said.

The exhibition will continue till March 6.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2016.