Soraya Sikander uses London’s colours and Karachi’s tones of grey
Exhibition, ‘In, At and Around’, will run at the Unicorn Gallery till January 17.
Soraya Sikander’s Landscape with Black Trees into Calligraphy using acrylic on canvas was inspired by Karachi (above) while City life-London by Night using acrylic on paper (below) was made in London. PHOTO: COURTESY UNICORN GALLERY
KARACHI:
Extortion, killings and rough are words often used to describe Karachi and its tumultuous nature, but in artist Soraya Sikander’s opinion, the city is made of “restrained beauty” and “sophisticated colour schemes.” Drawing inspiration from her hometown, she could not help but add paintings from Karachi to her exhibition running at Unicorn Gallery which displays works from her London Diary.
“I find London very colourful but it is very created, whereas Karachi is very organic,” says Sikander, whose exhibition ‘In, At and Around’ opened on Thursday.
“While being in Karachi, I felt compelled to add paintings from the city. There is so much going on in the city - artists tend to respond more to crisis and produce dramatic work.”
Sikander’s work is associated with travel, belonging, memory and association. “My work for the London Diary was mostly outdoors and spontaneous. I find cities very interesting as they all have different shapes,” explains Sikander while talking to The Express Tribune. “The correlation between cities is also very intriguing - London is colourful with blues and yellows while Karachi is shades of grey.”
Paintings Black Landscape, Landscape on Black and Landscape with Black Trees into Calligraphy, which were made in and inspired by Karachi have been put up as part of the exhibition. Memories of Hampstead, Sikander says, was painted in Karachi but made her think of London.
Prof. Gerda Roper, the dean of School of Arts and Media at University of Teesside, praises Sikander’s work, saying “it has an elegant sense of rhythm.”
“When one looks at her work, it feels that one might be experiencing the secrets of the cosmos,” says Roper of the artist’s current exhibition.
Travelogue
One of the paintings on display, The many cities I have known and traveled to, brings together buildings from different cities against a bright red backdrop using gouache on paper. “I’ve travelled to so many countries and have developed a sense of how things are formed. Out of all the cities I have visited, Karachi is the most interesting. There’s a sad beauty to it, almost gothic,” says the artist. “It’s not as lively as London and doesn’t have the same nightlife, but its natural beauty has so much potential. The city has few colours but they make up a sophisticated palette.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2013.
Extortion, killings and rough are words often used to describe Karachi and its tumultuous nature, but in artist Soraya Sikander’s opinion, the city is made of “restrained beauty” and “sophisticated colour schemes.” Drawing inspiration from her hometown, she could not help but add paintings from Karachi to her exhibition running at Unicorn Gallery which displays works from her London Diary.
“I find London very colourful but it is very created, whereas Karachi is very organic,” says Sikander, whose exhibition ‘In, At and Around’ opened on Thursday.
“While being in Karachi, I felt compelled to add paintings from the city. There is so much going on in the city - artists tend to respond more to crisis and produce dramatic work.”
Sikander’s work is associated with travel, belonging, memory and association. “My work for the London Diary was mostly outdoors and spontaneous. I find cities very interesting as they all have different shapes,” explains Sikander while talking to The Express Tribune. “The correlation between cities is also very intriguing - London is colourful with blues and yellows while Karachi is shades of grey.”
Soraya Sikander’s Landscape with Black Trees into Calligraphy using acrylic on canvas was inspired by Karachi (top) while City life-London by Night using acrylic on paper (above) was made in London. PHOTO: COURTESY UNICORN GALLERY
Paintings Black Landscape, Landscape on Black and Landscape with Black Trees into Calligraphy, which were made in and inspired by Karachi have been put up as part of the exhibition. Memories of Hampstead, Sikander says, was painted in Karachi but made her think of London.
Prof. Gerda Roper, the dean of School of Arts and Media at University of Teesside, praises Sikander’s work, saying “it has an elegant sense of rhythm.”
“When one looks at her work, it feels that one might be experiencing the secrets of the cosmos,” says Roper of the artist’s current exhibition.
Travelogue
One of the paintings on display, The many cities I have known and traveled to, brings together buildings from different cities against a bright red backdrop using gouache on paper. “I’ve travelled to so many countries and have developed a sense of how things are formed. Out of all the cities I have visited, Karachi is the most interesting. There’s a sad beauty to it, almost gothic,” says the artist. “It’s not as lively as London and doesn’t have the same nightlife, but its natural beauty has so much potential. The city has few colours but they make up a sophisticated palette.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2013.