Arshad Faruqui expresses his feelings on son’s departure through an art exhibition

Some empty cages were left open, suggesting that the birds have flown away.

KARACHI:

Parents love to see their children succeed and make the best out of life. But there also exists within them an inner, insatiable desire to have the children live with them for a lifetime. And when the children fly out of the nests they were born and nurtured in - which almost all of them eventually do - parents are left with nothing but the echoes of the good, old times.

This was the theme in the latest work of sculptor Arshad Faruqui, who has expressed his innermost feelings through copper. The opening exhibition, titled 'Presence of absence…' was held at the Koel Gallery on May 9.

"Eventually, our children leave us one day," said Faruqui, over the ambient chirping of the birds. "The nests become empty and disintegrated. I am happy that my son is going abroad for his studies but I'm also saddened by the thought of his departure. However, in the end we all have to accept the harsh reality that they will go one day and we will be left with nothing but the memories that will haunt us forever." The music in the background is representative of the memories that the children leave behind, he added.

Using birds to represent children, and nests and cages to represent homes, Faruqui depicts the idea of birds flying out of the nests and cages in a remarkable fashion. Some empty cages were left open, suggesting that the birds have been allowed to fly away. One striking work among the many was an installation of 66 large and small origami birds made of copper sheet, hanging all together like a flock in the air with transparent strings attached to them. Among these birds was a large one that was above all of them and it appeared as though it had abandoned the rest. "This is a depiction of the child leaving the family," explained Faruqui. "Children leave when they go overseas pursuing higher education or when they get married and start a new life. The sad part is that they will all go one day, be they sons or daughters."

According to the sculptor's wife, Sara Faruqui, the thought of his 17-year-old son's departure next year has left her husband pondering over the idea a lot. "This was his way of expressing the emptiness that he has already started to experience," she said.

The themes of emptiness and reminiscence echo in all of his works. The empty nests and bird baths and the vacant cages are all either disintegrated or in the process of disintegration, he explained. The sound of chirping birds in the background is symbolic of the memories which can be felt even in the absence of someone dear - thus, the theme of 'presence of absence'.

Moreover, Faruqui has ingeniously managed to convey his concept of presence of absence by making use of lights to create artistic shadows. The shadows are, again, symbolic of the reminders of the past. Shadows are, in essence, nothing on their own; intangible and dependent on another object. Similar are memories; certainly present in the background but just as intangible, dependent.

One spectacular piece on display was a solid base cone that was hanging in the air in a small room that accommodated no other works. In the cone's centre was a light bulb which moved back and forth like a pendulum. With the bulb's oscillation, the shadow of the cone and its intertwined wires would enlarge and diminish accordingly. Perhaps the artist wanted to express the intensity of emotions related to the memories. The force of the memories that bother us fluctuates in accordance with the circumstances of life. At times, the recollections of the past have an overwhelmingly strong effect. At others, we can hush them to the back of our minds.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2014.