Art exhibit: Journeying through the divided self

Three artists join forces to unleash intimate emotion at Rohtas Gallery.

ISLAMABAD:

Every artist goes through a phase of expressing their innermost thoughts and some succeed with flying colours. Along the same lines, three young artists Nadya Hussain, Sophia Khwaja and Rabeya Jalil have articulated self-expression on canvas at an ongoing exhibition titled “Paper Cuts” at Rohtas Gallery.

For example, Sophia’s series titled “I will manage” features a silhouette standing away from a dense, black mass, a sort of rebellion. Whether the figure is carefully wading above water or purposefully ignoring the dark side remains a mystery. “My work deals with alienation within society. You may have grown up among lots of people but sometimes you feel alone in a crowd because you cannot fully express yourself,” she said. Her piece “Reigning queen” is altogether different though, where she depicts the craze of designer wear that is a fast growing phenomenon. The piece shows a woman wearing blinders, carrying a designer bad and dashing forth in stilettos. “This is my interpretation of the designer lawn craze, the women rushing in frenzy at the exhibitions,” said Sophia with a laugh.

Nadya’s work deals with personal conflict. She uses ink, gouache, pencil and xerox transfer on paper and metaphorically peels down the layers of human emotion by drawing bone structures for the human body.

“Everywhere you see, there is lust as opposed to love. For me, depicting bone structures is a form of portraying true love,” she pointed out. Another of her pieces titled “Men that fly away” deals with lost love, showcasing golden wings on the skeleton. Meanwhile, visitors appreciated the analogy. “We all have that one person in our lives who gets away or is always at the back of our minds,” said an art enthusiast at the gallery.

On the other hand, Rabeya’s work uses black and white lines where she seeks to portray a person’s journey to gain identity. Her grasp on lithography remains strong. However adhering to abstract forms, she fails to humanise her work. The exhibition continues till November 2.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2012.