Cultural heritage: Faiz’s poetry on canvas, 34 years in the making

Exhibition by Aslam Kamal opens at Lahore Museum.


Sonia Malik June 05, 2011

LAHORE:


Aslam Kamal’s first meeting in Faiz Ahmed Faiz in 1977 left a deep impression. They met at an exhibition at the art gallery of the Lahore Museum, where Kamal’s paintings interpreting Iqbal’s poetry were on display. “He told me, ‘After Sadequain, uou are Pakistan’s next big artist,’” said Kamal.


Fittingly, 34 years later works by the same artist attempting to encapsulate Faiz’s poetry went on display at the same gallery on Saturday. The one-week exhibition of 44 paintings was inaugurated by Kamal himself and Faiz’s daughter Muneeza Hashmi.

Kamal said that though he had always admired Faiz, meeting the poet and hearing his praise had inspired him to start translating his verse into art, which he began doing in 1983. “Sometimes, I felt I could transform a poem into an illustration in two hours, but it would take months,” he said. “Creativity does not follow a deadline. It comes naturally.”

Kamal said being a poet himself helped him “paint” verse. “I remember 80 per cent of Ghalib’s, Iqbal’s and Faiz’s poetry by heart.

Their words are on my mind all the time. I’m programmed to splash them onto canvas and make them my own,” he said.

The paintings were tagged with the titles of the poems depicted, while a few had English translations displayed alongside them.

The centrepiece of the show was a giant rectangular canvas depicting a Faiz in chains, being looked down open by faces painted in charcoal black. Kamal said the painting was based on one of his favourite Faiz poems, titled ‘Aaj bazaar may paa bajolan chalo’ (Don’t let your shackles hold you back).

It was the only acrylic painting on display. The rest were painted in water colours. Also striking was a painting titled Solitude which was a portrait of the artist.

Muneeza Hashmi, speaking at the exhibition, said that she had been overwhelmed by all the events bringing together artists from all over Pakistan and other countries that had been held over the past year to celebrate her father’s life.

Kamal has been recognised with a Presidential Pride of Performance Award for his art. He is also a renowned designer of book covers, having designed over 20,000, which he said was a world record.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5th, 2011.

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