Kindness of Strangers: Documenting shared human experiences

At Anna Molka Art Gallery of College of Arts and Design, the exhibition will continue till July 9.

LAHORE:

People across regions and cultures are bound by similar experiences they have to go through during everyday lives. Kindness of Strangers, an exhibition of 15 paintings and photographs by Murtaza Haq, is an attempt to document these experiences, says the artist.

Haq says kindness is the only word he can come up with to describe his interactions with people during his travels in Australia, Central Asia and northern areas of Pakistan. “I travel a lot and come across different people whom I wouldn’t know for very long,” he says. The work that went on display at Anna Molka Art Gallery of College of Arts and Design on Monday, he says, is a tribute to these strangers who were so kind to him even for a short period. The exhibition is the first of a two-part series.

Haq says he is a self taught artist. “I haven’t been to any art school. My work is inspired by my experiences and interactions,” he says.

Haq was born in Lahore but raised in Australia. He recently came back to Pakistan. Travelling through Cambodia and China, he entered Pakistan through Hunza.

“It is an amazing place. I couldn’t find any shortcoming in it,” says Haq, explaining his travel through Hunza. CAD principal Dr Rahat Naveed Masud said the work was a portrayal of artists’ experiences during his travels. She said Haq had captured many intricate details of regions and people he had come across during his travels. She said considering Haq has had no formal training in fine arts, his work was very impressive. “It shows art is about personal expression,” she said.

Sadaf, a student of fine arts, said the work was eye-catching. “The subtlety with which Haq has portrayed different objects and captured his travels deserves applause,” she said.

A CAD faculty member said he particularly liked the use of aerosol. He said the works exhibited a love for human relationships and a search for common good.

The exhibition will continue till July 9.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2011.