Artists illustrate the outer space at the O-Art Space Gallery

LAHORE: The exhibition, Spatial Odyssey, by four artists is an exploration of space through abstract and partly realistic sketches.

As many as 18 sketch pieces in graphite ink and pen on paper are currently being exhibited at the O-Art Space Gallery.

The work of artist Huma Muqbool reflects philosophical and more specifically metaphysical concerns that questions human reality and existence.



According to Muqbool, in the wake of these principal questions she chose to portray silent, elusive spaces and enigmatic composition through basic lines, shapes and forms to make the viewer question the obvious and common sense beliefs.

Muqbool says that she grew up in the family of artists where she saw the process of painting from her early days. Instead of conventional and institutional art training, Muqbool studied philosophy to enrich her conceptual grounds that gave a whole new meaning and layer to her artistic works.



On the other hand, traditional painter and digital illustrator Amal Fatima Uppal’s work focuses on social concerns and changes that she observed while growing up in a post-colonial era. According to Uppal, she is fascinated with cultural hybridity and social dichotomies and recording and preserving local lore from contemporary art aspect.

“I explore current events and social trends, fondly seek to preserve the heritage I was raised with,” she says.

Uppal feels that her youth is one of the last pre-millennial childhoods where stories were narrated not animated, local festivals were not socially divided, art had patrons and one could walk down the street without looking over one’s shoulder. Muneeb Aqib, a visual arts student at National College of Arts (NCA), takes his inspiration from the landscapes of Abbottabad where he grew up.

“My interest lies in the perception of natural phenomenon that occurs in the immediate surrounding landscapes,” he says.



“My practice explores the visible and invisible forces, the transformations they produce on the landscapes and its objects,” Aqib adds.

According to Aqib, his sketches are recorded objects, happenings, sounds that he notices in his surroundings as memories from the experience of being in the place.

Sameen Agha says that she was exposed to drawing and designs from her early age since her parents ran a design firm. Even though she enrolled as communication design student at the NCA, she began taking interest in fine arts, she adds.

The exhibition will continue till 10th of November

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2017.