Exhibition: Artist turns to clay to mould a Pakistani ‘pehchaan’

Ceramics artist feels the country is in an identity crisis.

KARACHI:

While artist Abeer Asim was in the UK completing her Master’s degree, she saw her country depicted as a hub of disaster and destruction on the news. This was not how she remembered her home. So, a year after she returned to Pakistan she decided to launch an exhibit, titled ‘Pehchaan’, displaying the confusion involved with being a patriotic Pakistani. The exhibition launched at the ArtChowk Gallery on Thursday, May 19, it will be up till June 2.

In her opinion, she is trying to fuel a revolution. “Pehchaan is an appeal to millions to revolt, before the peaceful colours - green and white - turn grey under the ashes of conflict and disaster.” Asim uses images such as the Quaid and the five-point star on the flag to depict ‘pehchaan’. “These scattered and chaotic stars signify the lost value and essence of the emotions attached to the flag.”

Having spent a year abroad, Asim is familiar with an outsider’s perception of Pakistan. She believes the media plays an important role in “interpreting the image of the identity, culture and lifestyle of a country”.

“Generally people associate disturbing images shown through the media as the truth and the only depiction of the land,” she explains. “Whereas, the Pakistan I associate with lives up to the hurdles of everyday life.” She feels we should “praise the soil, its independence and dignity”

She recently completed her Master’s of Arts in ceramics from the University of Wales in the UK. Her medium of choice provides her “with a sense of belonging, a signature style, a strong meaning and direction”. In her artist statement, she describes clay as “a medium that connects a strong bond between ideas and language. It holds a strong character which is both independent and unruly”.

In her latest group of works, the artist breaks the rules of slipcasting by using a mould of paper and pouring the clay over the mould instead of into it. It gives her work a crude, unrefined look that helps represent the identity crisis that she feels plagues Pakistanis today.

Using screen printing she has embellished the porcelain with newspaper print, portraits and the designs from money and passports.

There are at least 40 pieces in the show; the majority of them are ceramic while some are collages, photographs and acrylic paintings. The first few, such as the ‘Quaid - the leader’, are tightly wrapped abstract figures. As the series progresses, the pieces unravel and break apart, signifying further confusion.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2011.