Collective renditions: Caricaturing old techniques with a modern twist

14 recent NCA graduates utilise paintings, sculptures to present ideas

ISLAMABAD: A group of young artists have taken to critique long established techniques and themes with a modern twist.

Artworks by 14 recent graduates of National College of the Arts (NCA), from the Rawalpindi and Lahore campuses, at the Satrang Art Gallery utilise paintings and sculptures to present their ideas.

Titled ‘Collective Renditions’, the show features Abdul Basit, Agha Irtiza Qazalbash, Ahsan Ali Memon, Ahsan Javaid, Ali Saad, Faraz Aamer, Hamid Ali, Hammad Gilani, Jahanzaib Akmal, Marjan Bani Asadi, Maryam Bani Asadi, Onaiz Taji, Qaiser Shah, Samiullah Sehto and Sarah Zia.

“I’ve incorporated the rudimentary routines of Mughals into the eight-bit world of video games, to make the audience laugh at the kings and the noblemen on “snow brothers” in the world of the Super Mario Brothers, which takes you back to the time of your childhood,” says Akmal.



Two of the artists, sisters from Iran, brought a more regional flavor to the collection while showing a culture in transition.

Art by the Asadi sisters have complemented  each other in the same collection. While Marjan’s work is deeply layered and more on the abstract side, Maryam uses colour and form to reflect women’s roles in the contemporary society.

Marjan’s work speaks about how with time  memory fades away and is replaced with new things when all that remains is the nostalgia of life and cultural changes. “I am constantly translating my past and transferring those stories onto the canvas, which then completely change in content when placed in the contemporary context and so narrates a whole new story of its own.”



Maryam, meanwhile, said that her “miniatures are landmarks of my journey. Through these paintings, I want to record my past and the real places that I have been to.”

One of the centrepieces at the exhibit was a modeled sculpture by Agha Irtaza Qazalbash. Using five-rupee coins to symbolise the economy he mocks power and privilege in an ode to Noam Chomsky’s: “Truth and justice or power and privilege”.

“I use the coin in different ways and manifestations, both directly and indirectly, leaving it open to the viewer’s perception and interpretation.”

The current exhibition is on till Monday, October 24.

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