Memoirs on canvas: A wall on a wall

Exhibition underway at 39-K

LAHORE:

Memoirs: an exhibition featuring over a dozen acrylic on canvas paintings by Rabia Aijaz and Farhat Ali commenced on Monday at 39-K.

The artists have attempted to explore mundane objects like switchboards, valves and taped paper in their work. The objects portrayed question or merely acknowledge actions part of everyday life. Some switchboard paintings have been displayed in such a manner that they fleetingly appear like real objects on a wall.

Farhat Ali said the paintings were an attempt to revive memories associated with objects used in daily life that were often overlooked. Speaking about a painting of his on a curtain that depicted three burqa-clad women, Ali said the painting was an overlap of “a curtain on a curtain.” “Likewise, I have replicated this concept by overlapping a wall on a wall,” he said.

Aijaz said in a way, walls defined childhood experiences as well in the form of switches which children are kept away from, notes pasted on walls and spaces decorated in connection with birthdays. “As adolescents we hide behind them. As adults we hang photos on walls to animate them. They are the canvas on which the story of our being is rendered in the colours of the world,” she said. Aijaz said the work on display was primarily about walls, the nostalgia they evoked and how they witnessed everything one experienced.

Aijaz was born in Peshawar. She received an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from the Beaconhouse National University (BNU) in 2009. She later obtained an MFA from New York’s Pratt Institute in 2013 after securing a Fulbright scholarship. Aijaz graduated at the top of her class there. Her work has been exhibited in Pakistan and abroad. She lives and works in Lahore.

Ali was born in Badin. He commenced his artistic journey with painting sign boards. Ali joined Jamshoro’s Centre of Excellence in Art and Design (CEAD) on his mother’s encouragement. He later joined the National College of Arts (NCA) where he obtained a bachelor’s in fine arts with a distinction.

Ali has participated in many group shows including News from Sindh that was showcased at Canvas Gallery in 2010, Inspired which was curated by William Yitley and Sindh that was displayed at Koel Gallery in 2014. He recently had a solo exhibition—How Did I Get Here—at Sanat Gallery. Ali lives and works in Lahore.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2016.