Love through the lens of motherhood

Artist Sadaf Naeem says her works revolve around personal imagery

KARACHI: Most of the art you see in galleries is based on personal life – its charms and its whims. What you perhaps do not notice is the fact that all of life is governed by a multiple factors, including happiness and sadness. Artist Sadaf Naeem paints as she sees through life choices and what she gets offered.

The paintings, some made with oil on canvas with a few acrylics on canvas, depict floral landscape. PHOTO: CHAWKANDI ART GALLERY

At the exhibition, titled ‘Surrounded’, which opened at Chawkandi Art Gallery on Tuesday, Sadaf talks about her work. "It's personal imagery,” she says. “It delves [into] motherhood. For me, it involves new beginnings, the process of the pain and then delivering the little one. In the paintings you will see [a] seed [that is about] to bud [into a] flower. The pink colour in the background denotes the fact that there was a time I had hoped to conceive a girl child."



She has raised two boys – the elder, 14 years old, and the younger, four years old. "My husband and I never compared genders but we would have loved to conceive a girl."

Sadaf said they are not longing for a daughter anymore and are content with their two sons. "More than delving into pain or grief over it, I tried focusing on the positive aspect of life, hence this collection."

More importantly, some artworks consist of some ultrasound images of the artist's pregnancies. PHOTO: CHAWKANDI ART GALLERY

The paintings, some made with oil on canvas with a few acrylics on canvas, depict floral landscape. More importantly, however, they consist of some ultrasound images of Sadaf's pregnancies.

Sadaf is the wife of artist RM Naeem. Talking about his wife's artistic sense, he said that it dwells on innocence. “There is though some spontaneity [that] her artwork is associated with."



Zohra Husain, the owner of Chawkandi Art Gallery, noticed the fine balance in Sadaf’s work. "Her work is different from others – a balanced compilation of the organic and non-organic life. [They are] beautifully painted canvases [that] are a visual delight.”

With 15 artworks on display at the gallery, the exhibition ends on April 3.