The artist Mumtaz Hussain’s picture. PHOTO: SIKANDAR USMAN
ISLAMABAD:
There is more to Mumtaz Hussain than meets the eye. The multifaceted artist has dabbled in painting, writing and filmmaking for over the last two decades. Having worked in Europe and America, he remains a sufi mystic at heart.
This fusion of cultures and an affinity to his ethnic roots was evident in a two-part showcase of his work at the National College of the Arts (NCA), Rawalpindi on Friday.
The showcase involved a video installation at the NCA Gallery, followed by a 90-minute feature film at the nearby Liaquat Auditorium.
Video installation
The video installation is the second in a series of projects that Hussain did for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Titled “Soul of Civilisation”, the video installation pays homage to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation.
“This is my way of showing the West that the Indus Valley Civilisation was by far the most intellectual and peace-loving. Not a single lethal weapon has been discovered from any of the excavation sites,” Hussain said.
In a written artist’s statement, Hussain stated, “[The video installation] is an experiment of virtual three-dimensional images at varying distances, giving the echo of the civilisation. Since water plays an important role in this civilisation, images appear in the form of water waves.”
The statement further said that water is life in the Indus Valley, adding that the six waterways of the region provide the lifeblood of a culture, which even today, maintains its characteristic images and symbols. While ruling elites come and go, this folk culture breathes through the soul of those who have lived and toiled for millennia, the statement concluded.
The video installation has garnered international acclaim and has been exhibited at various universities and art galleries including Queens Museum of Art, Flushing Meadows Corona Park Queens, New York, Jorgensen Centre for Performing Arts, University of Connecticut and University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin.
Feature film
The unreleased film was screened after a plethora of power fluctuations and technical glitches at the event. Elusively titled “Art = (Love)2”, the film does not quite fit into any particular genre. While some may label it psychological thriller-meets-drama, Hussain has linked the subject matter to mysticism.
Set in New York, the film revolves around Dean, an artist who is still recuperating from the mysterious death of his girlfriend Isabella. When police seal the case, dubbing it suicide, a dejected Dean resorts to painting. Frustrated, he splatters paint unto canvas after canvas and finds Isabella communicating with him through his art.
Isabella, who was a mathematics student at the Columbia University and said to be bipolar, was solving the complex Riemann hypothesis. She would marvel at the esoteric relationship between art and mathematics; tracing vivid abstractions of shape and symmetry. As Dean follows the clues, he sets out on a trail of self-discovery that would finally set him free.
The film has received a number of international awards and official selections for festivals including Best Cinematography in feature length category at Jaipur International Film Festival 2013, Award of Merit at Lucerne International Film Festival 2012 in Switzerland and official selection Delhi International Festival 2012.
Edited by Hollywood’s Holmes (Rocky1, Rocky2 and Donnie Brasco), the film has been composed by Joe Delia who has to his credit, films like King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Funeral and Caged Fury.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2013.
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