Current culture: Six artists open a vein to paint a true picture

IVS exhibit ending today examines the business of blood.

KARACHI: “The whole idea of blood is connected with violence or injury or making someone [bleed] through the act of violence,” said Ammad Tahir in a curatorial note to visitors of his latest gallery exhibit.

“The whole idea of money is related to power and consumption... However there is also such a term as blood money, which connects both violence and economic power in the context of crime and punishment.”

Tahir’s words sum up the focus of “Blood/Money,” an art exhibition that ends today at the Indus Valley School Gallery in Clifton, where Tahir works as curator.

Since January 9, six young artists have had their work on display: Anam Shakil of Karachi University, Ayub Wali of the National College of Arts Rawalpindi (NCA), Habib Phulpoto of the Centre of Excellence in Art & Design, Nazir Hunzai of NCA, Zabad Anwer of Karachi School of Art, and Zain Ashir of IVS.

The artwork, which is on sale at prices ranging from Rs4,000 to Rs90,000, features subjects, such as blood, deception, murder, monsters, and more.

Saffak Maseeha by Zabad Anwar

Gallery chairperson Adeela Suleman presented the idea of “blood/money” to the gallery committee. Then the artists brought their own meanings and perspectives to the topic, resulting in a variety of bold, morbid and imaginative pieces.

Anwer’s work focuses mainly on the current situation in Balochistan. “Blood money is a game,” she said in a phone interview with The Express Tribune. “I’m trying to portray the game with chess and cards.”

Hunzai’s art was inspired by frequent trips to markets and junkyards where he often sees old toys being imported from other countries, a practice he feels is part of a larger movement to pacify Pakistanis through the guise of charity.

“It’s not a literal interpretation of blood money,” said Hunzai. “There are emotional feelings attached to the teddy bears and dolls shipped here that used to belong to another child. My art shows that we are not only physically tortured, but also emotionally tortured from these kinds of things.”

Ashir’s work focuses heavily on mythology. “I tried to show the darker side of human existence, the part that compels us to take money and kill someone,” he said.



Tahir referred to the duality of current Pakistani society as inspiration for the showcase and added that the nation has developed a culture in which lives are taken for granted and money is easily accepted as compensation.

“On the one hand we see violence, murder and injustice, and on the other hand we see new shopping malls being built and expensive cars being [imported],” he said. This was not to make others feel guilty or pessimistic but rather to help them see life for what it is, he added.

Ashir pointed out that bureaucracy seems to be a barrier for much of the existing talent. As a result, he said, those being exposed are untalented individuals who have simply jumped the bandwagon and gotten ahead by means of money and influence.

Like others in Pakistan and around the world, the artists participating in the “Blood/Money” exhibition feel work such as theirs can potentially lead to growth and change. “[Art] may or may not criticise it but it most certainly makes people think,” said Tahir. Ashir felt that art could not really change the world, although it could slowly influence the way people think.

“We live in a time where people don’t really look at art, and information is available at such a scary pace,” said Ashir.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2013.