Art exhibition: Beyond the binary at Canvas Gallery

Adeeluz Zafar brings out themes of power, gender and identity in his latest exhibition

KARACHI: Artist Adeeluz Zafar’s latest exhibition, ‘Binary’, brings out two sides of a story. He uses the formal and theoretical basis of double, binary and symbiosis to depict the hidden undertones of power, gender and identity in his works.

“Between these binaries, something new arises; a third complex that forms the space that is the link but is simultaneously also the third. It is in this space between, the grey between the black and white, that the layers of dialogue form and wherein the viewer is engaged,” reads the press statement of the exhibition.

Using an engraved drawing on plastic vinyl medium, Zafar has nine pieces of work on display at Canvas Gallery. Speaking about the technique, curator Zarmeené Shah remarked, “By using the technique of etching, he scratched the surface and then drew on it. [This] requires much precision”.

From bandaged skulls to images of characters from pop culture, Zafar blends two contrasting ideas to create a dialogue. His work, ‘Iconic Masks’, depicts the masks of Guy Fawkes and Darth Vader, while ‘Anti-Heroes’ showcases faces of Godzilla and King Kong.

‘Great Destruction’ shows the similarities between a nuclear blast and volcanic eruption.



Speaking about his work, Zafar said that the drawings have purposefully been done in black and white. “There are many connections between these concepts; from anti-heroes and villains to natural volcanoes to a man-made disaster, there is a contrast that I am exploring which looks a little destructive in nature,” he explained.

“For me, [the exhibition] is about finding similarity in different circumstances,” said the owner of the gallery, Sameera Raja. “It’s all about illusion versus reality. Everything is certainly not the way you perceive it to be and vice versa.”

The show continues at Canvas Gallery till November 10.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2016.