Questioning the world through art

Pakistani contemporary artists wowed Singapore with their work that reflected their interpretation, and most importantly, their criticism of the situation in and around the country.

Using unconventional means of art - flooring material and juxtaposing traditional and modern figures - five young artists showcased their pieces in a group show titled ‘On the Brink’ that opened June 3 in Singapore, reported The Straits Times.

The artists - Adeel, Aasiph Ahmed, Abdul Jabbar Gull, Syed Faraz Ali and Usman Ghouri - are all graduates of National College of Arts, Lahore, and the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi.

One of them, 35-year-old Pakistani artist Adeel uz Zafar uses the reverse side of vinyl sheets that often cover the floor in our homes. He cuts up the sheets, transforms them into his canvas and uses instruments such as cutter blades to engrave fine lines on the black vinyl.

His untitled work features soft toys wrapped in layers of bandages. The artist tells The Straits Times, “The gauze [of the bandages] has so many connotations. It is a reflection of what is happening around my country. Everything is bandaged in layers.

I often wonder what happens to the wounded soul after the body has healed.”

The Straits Times describes Adeel and his group “as a new wave of Pakistani artists who think critically about their country’s political and social history”.

The artists use a range of techniques, drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as the ancient tradition of miniature painting to the current political situation, according to the newspaper’s review.

Syed Faraz Ali, 29, also draws inspiration from Pakistan’s political and social events. Works such as ‘All Rights Reserved III’ show the body of a man whose face is covered with a hood.

On the top, kettles are covered with American dollars and seem to float above the victim’s head. About the piece, he says, “My work is directly related to what is happening in and around my country. Sometimes, you read about bombs, sometimes it is money [entering and flowing out of the country]. I try to address these issues through my art.”

Unlike these two artists, Aasiph, 30, seeks to raise questions about the miniature art form. The artist specialised in the study of miniature paintings but decided to give it a new twist through his work.

In colourful works such as ‘Let’s Play A Game I’, he uses a die and covers it with traditional figures such as kings and queens and juxtaposes them with other forms. In some works, a crossword appears, in others, elephants seem ready to clash.

“I use traditional iconography derived from traditional historical miniatures and transform their language by using imagery from different times. The idea is to question the place of something traditional, like miniature painting, in the modern-day art world,” he tells The Straits Times.

Fost Gallery director Stephanie Fong says she wanted to present a mix of styles which could explore the diversity of contemporary art forms in Pakistan.

“I have been keeping tabs on emerging art markets, Pakistan being one of them,” she says, adding “’For this show, I did a lot of research before deciding on the five you see here. I picked them because of their strong foundation and the strength of their artistic practice.”

Published in the Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2010.