Art exhibition: Highlighting clay legacy through ceramic art pieces

Around 100 ceramic art pieces on display

LAHORE: Around 100 ceramic art pieces are on display at the Clay Legacy exhibition at Olomopolo Media.

The exhibition is a collaborative effort by the Olomopolo media and the Studio 90 Collective, an art school run by ceramist Sheherezade Alam.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Alam said the exhibition was an effort to highlight the importance of clay in the culture of the region. “Our ancestors used clay to make most of their daily use items like pottery,” she said. She said items made from clay had been found in the region dating as far back as 11,000 years. “They are part of our heritage,” she said.

Alam said that through her work she had been trying to highlight the need for rehabilitation of lost heritage items. “I recently held a show called Rediscovering Harappa where sliver and bead jewellery from Harappan culture were put on display,” she said.

Kulsoom Mehmood, another participant, said she had sought inspiration for her work from village life. “I have tried to expose connections between life experiences in villages and cities,” she said.

Referring to use of tree bark in one of her art pieces, she said she had tried to portray life in remote areas.

Mehmood said one of her art pieces was a replica of a whistle she had seen people use in her village during her childhood. “I’ve remade the whistle based on extensive research including my study of Indus Valley civilisation,” she said.

Rabia Oneeb said her ceramic sculptures were on display at the exhibition.

“My forte is sculpting face masks. There is a saying that you give a man a mask and he will show you his true face,” she said. “My work is quite experimental. I’ve tweaked and played around with concepts I’ve learned so far”, she added

Oneeb said her recent work was based on lessons learnt from Nepali ceramist Gopal Kalaprem.

Afshan and Noshi Ejaz of the Naqsh School of Arts displayed a collection of bowls and an album based on carvings and motif found at 12 Mughal era monuments.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2016.