Art pieces showcasing the collagraph printmaking technique put at display at Nomad gallery. PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD: In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.
This quote by Carl Jung seems to be the theme defining an art exhibition that will open up at Nomad gallery today (Saturday).
The first art exhibition of the year, “Patterns within chaos” showcases contemporary printmaking by art teacher and artist Iram Wani.
The exhibition comprises a total of 21 pieces done in the collagraph printmaking technique with variations of the same technique.
To the artist, patterns represent the rhythm of life. “The patterns that I see within chaos are depicted in my work through the use of elements picked not randomly but rather through keen observation,” said Wani, adding that the elements always bear some symbolic meanings and are the soul of her visuals.
Some of the symbols that occur recurrently in her work are fish, birds and slippers.
Wani, who teaches at the National College of the Arts in Rawalpindi, has also depicted the route for her daily commute. “It’s very chaotic on Murree Road these days but when you go there everyday, you start looking at it differently and you actually start liking the construction work, so you’ll see a pattern in the chaos,” she said.
Similarly, a charcoal-esque black-and-white piece depicting the calm and serene Dunn River in Jammu Kashmir is in direct contrast to the heightened security situation over there.
Two jute slippers placed close, in the backdrop of floral motifs, exude an intimate, romantic feel. A peacock-coloured bird is perched on top of a stylised carving on card paper, next to a more detailed relief of the same surface but printed in various tones and designs of indigo.
The repetitions signifying chaos create a plethora of patterns, juxtaposed with fine lines and strong compositions. The artist has used an unconventional colour palatte as opposed to the monochrome that one usually finds printmaking in.
Conflicting emotions of liberation and suffocating create a strange harmony within the maze of perceived chaos.
Some of the textures she has incorporated in the prints are coconut bark, dried leaves, sequences, silk fabric and different types of glue. Wani said she finds the process of printmaking addictive. “You live in a chaos. You have a chaotic life but when you start doing something repeatedly, you start noticing patterns,” she added.
Unlike pictures, the prints are highly nuanced and express a particular mood or feeling, which the viewer may connect with.
Nageen Hyat, the gallery curator, commented on the exhibition saying it is muted, intellectual and reflects the mood in the wake of the Peshawar massacre.
“Iram makes an overt effort to grapple with mature insight with the social and personal ‘chaos’ that surrounds us through a thought-provoking and finely-detailed focus,” she said.
The artist will be conducting printmaking workshops at the gallery next month. The current exhibition will continue at the gallery till January 12 from 10:30am to 7pm except Fridays.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2015.
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