NCA exhibition: Bikaoo Maal portrays materialism

Jewellery, laser-cut pieces of paper, dollar bills and scissors were for sale on a white cloth-cross at the NCA.

LAHORE: Jewellery, laser-cut pieces of paper, dollar bills and scissors were for sale on a white cloth-cross on the floor of the empty Zahoorul Akhlaq Art Gallery at the National College of Arts on Monday.

The display titled Bikaoo Maal (items for sale) was a part of Shazia Umbreen Mirza’s assemblage of decorative and ornamental objects conceived as a part of her Master’s of Fine Arts thesis at the State University of New York last year. Talking to The Express Tribune, Mirza said, “Through this display I have tried to ask the viewers what wealth means to them,” she said, adding  sarcastically,“It’s all about money.”

Fakharullah Tahir, an NCA teacher, said that the artist had creatively portrayed how humans are lost in materials. “It has both a positive and a negative approach to it. The colours and objects chosen show positivity while the message behind it shows the harsh reality of materialism,” he said. The exhibition will continue till March 16.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2011.