Seven artists speak from the heart in ‘Dil to Pagal Hai’

Art on display ranged from paintings to video installations

KARACHI: Sanat Gallery’s latest exhibition, ‘Dil to Pagal Hai’, speaks from the heart as seven artists displayed their work after a six-week residency.

The works on display range from video installations to paintings, all depicting a diverse range of topics.

Artist Qadir Jhatial used enamel paint on canvas to bring to life 99 household objects such as a fan, lights, a brush, stools and a scissor. Ahmed Javed painted his impressions about this artistic residency using gouache on wasli, while Noman Siddiqui painted a bicycle gold and tied balloons to it, naming it 'Khawaish [wish]’, for the things and dreams that are hard to realise.

Jovita Alvares gave a detailed description about a life lived by the sea via her work and said, "My work is a [collection] of movement and preserving it via recording time”.

99 Household Objects by Qadir Jhatial depicted a variety of ordinary objects made colourful. PHOTO: COURTESY SANAT GALLERY



Razin Rubin brought forward her collection of video installations, saying she was ‘taking ownership of other people's work and painting on top of it’.

Arslan Farooqi delved into the issue of transition from life towards death. He did this by creating trees, acknowledging the stillness in graves.

By using graphite on paper and squeezing the paper into a small wooden box frame, Haider Ali Naqvi attempted to document port life in Karachi.

The exhibition will continue till March 8. PHOTO: COURTESY SANAT GALLERY



The work was very different but similar in that it all focused on the city. Gallery owner Abid Merchant spoke about the six-week residency. "While using diverse mediums and by doing great many experiments, the seven resident artists painted what they thought best,” he said.

The exhibition will continue till March 8.