NCA theses: From the inspired to the inspiring

Students raise issues such as saving coral reefs, stereotypes and the energy crisis.

LAHORE:

The National College of Arts annual thesis show that opened on January 13 continued at the NCA campus on Wednesday.

Fine Arts

The Fine Arts Department showcased work by 40 students majoring in sculpture, printmaking, painting and miniature painting.

Faryal Ahsan, the artist behind the Parody of the Puppets, said, “I have tried to re-illustrate Mughal miniature paintings in the cultural context of this era,” she said. “I have also highlighted the idea of storytelling by using the canvas as a-cut-and-paste story board.”

Saba Zahid, another graduate, told The Express Tribune that she had tried to depict classic novels that stretched beyond the canvas. She said the exaggerated expressions and body postures of her characters brought a certain mystery to her paintings.



Textile Design  

The work of 15 graduates was exhibited in this department.

Nida Yousaf, who has graduated with honours, told The Express Tribune that her thesis was based on coral reefs. “Their vibrant colours and form have always fascinated me,” she said. “My work depicts the dilemma of man vs. nature.” Yousaf said she had used trash to depict coral reefs to draw attention to pollutants dumped into the sea.

Zoha Syed, showcasing her work titled the Ottoman Tile Series, told The Express Tribune that she had created a collection of contemporary table linen that highlight the rich patterns of Ottoman tile work by deliberately omitting vibrant hues and replacing them with subtle accents of embroidery, she said.  Sadia Zafar, the artist behind Daily Life Objects, said, “My thesis project is based on objects of daily use... I drew inspiration from the works of surrealist painter Meret Elisabeth Oppenheim.”

“My work revolves around the idea of ‘what if?’” said Zafar, “What if toothpaste was full of ants or a mug was made out of tea bags.” Ujala Aftab, another graduate, said, “Cinema has a fascinating impact on our lives. I have tried to reproduce classic films through textile thread.”

Communication Design

As many as 16 communication design graduates exhibited their works.

Nida Ezdi told The Express Tribune that her thesis project had tried to depict social labels and stereotypes among the educated urban youth through the concept of perception versus reality. She said, “The idea is to show people that appearances can be deceptive...they can be divisive but rarely ever depict the truth.”

Lailomah Shah, another graduate, said, “My thesis presents an edutainment space for four-to-six year olds to teach them elements of design: line, shape, textures and colour.” The idea was to provide kids contemporary and unorthodox materials and mediums for learning, she said.

Ceramics Design

Works by six students were showcased by the Department of Ceramics Design.

Head of Department Shazia Mirza told The Express Tribune that the programme aimed at designing objects that gave value to daily life. Students are trained to recognise, prioritise and answer immediate human needs, she said.

“This year, our students focused on the energy crisis and employed energy efficient design and used local and sustainable materials,” she said.

Amjad Ali Daudpota, said, “As a member of a family of kaashikaars, my art has stayed true to my bloodline. I developed an interest in the ongoing restoration of the famous Lahore Fort wall. My visits helped mould my thesis into a revival of kaashikaari mosaic work there.”

Kiran Naeem said, “I designed self watering planters with separate compartments for soil and water. The roots suck water from water reservoirs according to need. The planter only needs to be watered twice a week. Since water is not exposed, dengue mosquitoes cannot breed there. ” Mahnoor Naseem said she had designed ceramic luminaries with concealed reflectors.  Faisal Raheem has developed an un-fired compressed-earth construction brick.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2014.