Artists portray life from a common eye

The exhibition ‘the five star show’ will conclude on September 21

LAHORE: An exhibition, titled “The Five Star Show” featuring 23 artworks of five visual artists, is underway at the O Art Gallery.

One of the artists, Razin Rubin says her paintings portray everyday stories and serve as a medium to distract her when she is unaccompanied and alone.



“I grew up in Sukkur, in a family where we all used to sit together and share our stories with each other.” She says after the loss of her parents, she started documenting herself in remembrance of her parents and continued the family ritual of telling each other stories.



“I aim to highlight the world, we will be leaving for our younger generation to grow up, through my work,” says another artist, Noman Siddiqui.

“A child in today’s world sees influential people with armed guards getting their ways. He watches movies, cartoons and video games, which glorify violence and mayhem hand-in-hand with luxury, this child is bound to develop a fascination with these things,” he says.

Siddiqui’s art pieces in wooden and bronze medium are a social commentary on the rise of violence in a country where violence is already high.



Artist Haider Ali Naqvi says much of the visual content in his work comes from places he has been to and from his experiences while living there.

“I am greatly interested in the built environment, particularly architecture and spaces that we move into, out of, and across. Towers, bridges, poles, pavements appear throughout my work amid forms derived from scaffolding, infrastructure and other systems,” he adds.

Naqvi says that while he has a deep appreciation and respect for the history and traditions of painting, drawing and sculpture, he is interested in exploring the range of variability possible in the mediums and techniques he applies such as thumb pins, masking tape, tracing paper, board clips, sticky notes and inkjet prints.

Speaking about his work, artist Affan Baghpati says for his brass and gold plated art pieces, he collects discarded domestic objects and re-contextualises for reconsideration.

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According to Baghpati, these discarded objects, once functional in Pakistani household, are either losing or have already lost their value, presence and function which represents old South Asian domestic practices, shared history, hours of craftsmanship, and heritage.

“These objects are intriguing and rare finds as they are no longer in domestic use or production and I am interested in locating the purpose and notion of these objects through their design, aesthetics, form and functionality,” Baghpati adds.


Artist Rabia Farooqui says her aim is to bring out the use of gestures and objects in everyday situations to represent conflicting thoughts and viewpoints.

Speaking about her inspirational process, Farooqui says she strives to create scenarios where the obvious presence of a conflict exists, representing a mere contradiction of two opposing thoughts, which are influenced by preconceived standards and views set by society.



“Every time a statement is made, it usually has two meanings- one that is in your mind and one that is portrayed,” Farooqui says. “Therefore, my work takes on a satirical approach to represent an exaggeration of conflict, distraction, opposing views which are inevitably highlighted through the use of these objects and thus narratives.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2017.