The writing on the wall: Taqi Shaheen shows Karachi the art of ‘dhandli’

The artist uses a combination of images and popular graffiti to make a point.

KARACHI: For many, the word ‘dhandli’ brings to mind images of shredded ballot papers strewn on the road or gun-toting men loitering around polling stations, waiting for an opportunity to stir up trouble. For artist Taqi Shaheen, however, the word captures the essence of what goes wrong in Pakistan every day, not just May 11.

With a number of highly acclaimed works and exhibitions already in his portfolio, Shaheen has come to be considered as one of the brightest young minds in the field. Much of his work has been politically charged and with the historic transition from one democratically elected government to another in Pakistan, Shaheen’s creative juices started flowing again. But in his series, ‘Dhandli - Enough is not Enough’, the artist hasn’t fixated on what transpired during the elections - the scope of his work extends to problems which plague the lives of Pakistanis every day.

Enough is not Enough 2 (top left), Enough is not Enough (top right), Life Lines (above) and Hit List 1 (left) are among the painting on display by artist Taqi Shaheen at the T2F. PHOTO COURTESY T2F

“The word ‘dhandli’, to me, means so much more than the rigging we witnessed in the elections. It is the lies people tell each other, the small things in life that deprive the other person of their rights,” the artist explained to The Express Tribune.

The artist depicts his interpretation of the word ‘dhandli’ by imaginatively using popular graffiti with images and drawing from movies as well as Karachi’s urban areas. In ‘Enough is not Enough 2’, Shaheen uses a plethora of pictures of a typical day in the city, over which the word ‘Pakistan’ has been embossed. The distortion of the graffiti - which often crops up in different spots of the city - seems to be a window into the artist’s mind, suggesting to the viewer that he thinks Pakistan has been dealt a hard blow by unrest.

Enough is not Enough 2 (top left), Enough is not Enough (top right), Life Lines (above) and Hit List 1 (left) are among the painting on display by artist Taqi Shaheen at the T2F. PHOTO COURTESY T2F

Speaking of one image in the canvas, Shaheen told The Express Tribune that, “One of the images in the work shows an urban centre with the shops shut during the day - a typical day in Karachi where strikes are a common menace.”

Another work, Enough is not Enough 1, contains stills from movies such as ‘300’ over which the artist has superimposed the words ‘Ijtimai Qurbani’. The images themselves are gory. “You see this graffiti in different contexts every day. From people asking for the donation of skins of sacrificial animals to those asking to pitch in for a collective sacrifice - here it has been used in the sense that a general massacre of the public is taking place,” explained the artist.

Enough is not Enough 2 (top left), Enough is not Enough (top right), Life Lines (above) and Hit List 1 (left) are among the painting on display by artist Taqi Shaheen at the T2F. PHOTO COURTESY T2F

The work ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ shows a person forcing his eyes shut, blocking out the chaos that he is enveloped by. “We, as humans, have learned to close our minds to the atrocities occurring right before our eyes. When a wrong is being committed, we chose to look the other way instead of doing something about it,” said the artist, while talking about the work.



While the theme of ‘dhandli’ manifests itself plainly in most works in the series, others invite the viewer to ponder, question and interpret. The piece ‘Urban Motifs’, which uses pictures of Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor, is one such work. It hints to the fact that society tends to become hoodwinked by glamour and forgets the real purpose of existence. The exhibition will run at T2F till June 25.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2013.