Art exhibition begins at Rohtas 2

LAHORE: Rohtas 2 art gallery has begun showcasing an exhibition of Risham Syed’s new work titled Year 2010, from Friday.

The exhibition comprises eight paintings, all of which are acrylic on canvas board. The paintings are 4x6 inches, the size of a postcard. Some of the paintings have been given borders to represent old photographs, while others without borders represent new ones. The paintings show the rear walls of the houses in DHA, Lahore.

According to Syed, they comment on the class system and the social changes that our society has undergone in the last few years.

The work, she said, is a political and personal statement. A cemented wall has been built in the gallery for displaying the paintings, in order to match their theme.

National College of Arts (NCA) former principal Salima Hashmi said that the wall has been built to replicate the themes dealt with in the artist’s work. She said the work shows the relationship between the people with what they consider the ugly side of Lahore. She said, “The work shows the impact that the social urbanisation has put on our environment. It is based on a minute observation of things which we usually tend to ignore.”

She said that Lahore had always played a very important role in Syed’s imagery. “I remember when Risham did her thesis. It was based on the characters of the Walled City. It was an interesting human study,” she said.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Risham Syed said that in her earlier work, she only worked on beautiful homes, but in this collectiom she had tried to portray the back walls of homes that were unattractive.

This is her first solo show in Lahore. Besides several exhibitions around the country, her work was recently displayed at Talwar gallery in New York.

The prices of her artwork range between Rs180,000 and Rs225,000.

The exhibition will remain open till September 25.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2010.