Don’t Cry Soldier: Wrestlers and other he-men

Most of Butt’s work is a critique of a male dominated society.

LAHORE: The Pehlwan series points out how ridiculous men’s obsession with power can be, said Faiza Butt on Monday.

She said she had painted male wrestlers surrounded with objects like fried eggs, blow dryers and blue eyed cats to highlight how they were fixated with the notions of power and authority.

She was speaking at the Rohtas Gallery on the opening day of the exhibition of nine of her recent art works. The exhibition is titled Don’t Cry Soldier. Butt said she had used light boxes in her work. She said she was inspired by the cave art and the pre-photography traditions of painting. She said her personal favourite was the scanned collage on Perspex mounted on a light box. About her painting Nazar-e-bad, she said, she had borrowed the concept from pop art. “It is based on my study of truck and rickshaw arts,” she said. Mard-e-Momin, another painting, was displayed next to a portrait of General Zia. “They remind me of the incident when President Zia had asked singer Noor Jehan to sing Allama Iqbal’s poem of the same title to him,” said Salima Hashmi referring to the two works. Hashmi praised the work. She said Butt had engaged with some controversial ideas and had explained her message in a persuasive manner. She said the work seemed to be a dialogue between drawing and painting. Butt is a graduate of the National College of Arts. She completed her post-graduate study at Slade School of Fine Arts. Butt’s work is inspired by politics and is also a critique of a male-dominated society. She said her recent work was influenced by her study of men’s sports. She said the paintings of Iranian wrestlers were meant to portray how men could get obsessed with power and authority. Nazish Ataullah, a former NCA principal, said she was greatly impressed by Butt’s work. Lately, she said, conceptual art was gaining popularity among the emerging artists. She said the artists had managed to convey strong ideas in a unique manner. “The way she has put together ordinary household items to convey her message is very impressive,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2011.