Mughal miniature artwork shows less is more

Rabia Ashraf displays works in both traditional and contemporary modes

LAHORE: It is often said that less is more and the work of senior Mughal miniature and calligraphy artist Rabia Ashraf gave credence to this belief.

Her work is on display at the Zahoorul Ikhlaq Gallery at the National College of Arts. The show will remain on display till September 18. The artworks feature Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, Noor Jehan and lion hunting during the Mughal era. The artist says her work has been a means to ignite the spiritual quest of negating the self and then rediscovering it on another plain.



“Establishing this kind of relationship with art only became possible with the help of my mentors Faqir Safdar Hussain, Ashfaq Ahmad and Bano Qudsia, who made me realise the importance of the journey within,” she says.



Ashraf says the dedication and commitment of Ustad Bashir Ahmad, an acclaimed miniature painter, inspired her to connect her inner self to the artwork. “I learned that through hard work and devotion one can negate one’s own personality. After that, something greater is created through producing artworks.”

Sharing her artistic journey, Ashraf says her work has gone through various phases, along with her soul. “I have worked in both traditional and contemporary modes, the latter being particularly under the guidance of Professor Lala Rukh.”



“I have been able to explore a variety of subject matters  ranging from court scenes to the romantic epics such as Saiful Maluk and in the process a whole new world of imagination and creativity unfolded before me,” she says.

According to Rabia, who is a graduate of NCA, her works might be of interest to the viewers, but for her it is the process of producing them that has been more central and satisfying for her as an artist.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2017.