Visual arts: Artists communicate with Karachiites through videos and more

Amna Saeed, a NCA graduate, seemed to have touched a nerve with her artwork.

KARACHI: The audience at Port Grand was treated to a feast of numerous special visual performances, as the three-day Vasl International Artists Workshop came to a close on Sunday. Nearly eight artists, including one each from China, Poland and Germany, displayed their work during the workshop.

In a six-minute video, Elizabeth Rosenthal, from Germany, dressed up as a petite woman in a white skirt, and started whistling in a museum. “I wanted to communicate with people, and when I started whistling, they did the same,” said Rosenthal, who has been involved in performance arts since 2008. She said that she was inspired by the chirping of birds. “I believe art is imitation, and I imitate a lot.” A wooden sound box, covered in black and pale yellow camouflage, stood by itself on a table. The box, designed by National College of Art (NCA) graduate Zeeshan Younas, recreated sounds that one would expect to be heard immediately following a disaster.

“I’ve put in original sounds of a thunderstorm, but it seems like it’s right after a bomb blast,” he said. “This box depicts our news channels, which start blaring their sirens every time disaster strikes. This makes a lot of people feel further insecure.”

Gemma Sharpe, one of the event’s coordinators, said that all the eight participants had been staying in Karachi for the last three weeks, as they made their art pieces. Some of the places where participants recorded their video performances included the Khadda Market and the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture.

Magda Fabiancyzk, who hails from Poland, was inspired by some of the salient features of leading a life in Karachi. Fabiancyzk’s video, titled “More than me, less than you,” reflected the social divide in the city that she perceived during her stay. She prepared it while travelling in a truck.

Amna Saeed, another NCA graduate, seemed to have touched a nerve with her artwork, which consisted of a fancy table that was set for dinner, which had a small screen set in the place where a menu would generally be found. A video shown on the screen depicted an eye that was peeping through a keyhole. Explaining her concept, Saeed said that, “Some people have a habit of interfering into other people’s business. That’s what I wanted to show.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2012.