Urban versus rural landscape: City of dreams, an existential land between reality and dream
‘Yume no Machi’ exhibition at Art Chowk Gallery covers artist’s travels between Karachi, Lahore and Japan.
Farooq Mustafa uses a wide array of colours in ‘City of Dreams’ as he claims colours are so translucent in Japanese art that one can see them settle layer by layer. PHOTOS: COURTESY ARTCHOWK GALLERY
KARACHI:
Artist Farooq Mustafa’s work is an amalgamation of an urban and rural landscape. It is a dream land that lies between reality and illusion, of what the artist has experienced in his lifetime and what he hopes it would become beyond barricades and walls.
At his exhibition ‘City of Dreams’ [Yume no Machi] at Art Chowk Gallery, Mustafa said that his canvases carry an impact of all his travels between Karachi, Lahore and Japan. “My memories are like glimpses of different places and that I have shown as intermingled and connected in my work,” he said.
With extensive use of mediums such as acrylic, Mustafa’s form of city mapping is all about connection. He says that the current landscapes of a big city like Karachi are far from natural flora and fauna and extensive land presence. In fact, it’s all about walls, both in their physical and spiritual realms.
“There are barriers and walls everywhere we go,” he said. “So, it is my imagination as to how the other side would appear if these walls weren’t there.”
Talking about the wide array of colours used in his work, Mustafa said that colours are translucent in Japanese art so much so that you can see them settling layer by layer.
“I have used the same colours as we can find in Japanese wood block prints,” he explained. “The colour division is a reference to them,” he explained, pointing towards clear shades of blue on his canvases.
Another aspect that Mustafa has merged is the 2D and 3D depiction of construction and landscape. His work lies like an open book, conceivable both inside-out and up-front from two dimensions. Elaborating on city entrances like the one in traditional Japanese literature, Mustafa explained the open interpretation of the theme. “It can be seen as a road to a city, an entrance to heaven or even a path that leads towards God.”
Though Mustafa’s imagery of the city of dreams is of a serene, peaceful land in an urban developed landscape, he hasn’t ignored the prevalent violence that now dominates mega cities like Karachi. One can see the flower lotus growing in a blood red stream. “It depicts hope,” explains Mustafa. “Lotus has the potential to grow in dirt too. So, despite the conditions in the city, there is an element of hope and betterment.”
Mustafa’s works are on display till January 16.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2014.
Artist Farooq Mustafa’s work is an amalgamation of an urban and rural landscape. It is a dream land that lies between reality and illusion, of what the artist has experienced in his lifetime and what he hopes it would become beyond barricades and walls.
At his exhibition ‘City of Dreams’ [Yume no Machi] at Art Chowk Gallery, Mustafa said that his canvases carry an impact of all his travels between Karachi, Lahore and Japan. “My memories are like glimpses of different places and that I have shown as intermingled and connected in my work,” he said.
With extensive use of mediums such as acrylic, Mustafa’s form of city mapping is all about connection. He says that the current landscapes of a big city like Karachi are far from natural flora and fauna and extensive land presence. In fact, it’s all about walls, both in their physical and spiritual realms.
“There are barriers and walls everywhere we go,” he said. “So, it is my imagination as to how the other side would appear if these walls weren’t there.”
Talking about the wide array of colours used in his work, Mustafa said that colours are translucent in Japanese art so much so that you can see them settling layer by layer.
“I have used the same colours as we can find in Japanese wood block prints,” he explained. “The colour division is a reference to them,” he explained, pointing towards clear shades of blue on his canvases.
Another aspect that Mustafa has merged is the 2D and 3D depiction of construction and landscape. His work lies like an open book, conceivable both inside-out and up-front from two dimensions. Elaborating on city entrances like the one in traditional Japanese literature, Mustafa explained the open interpretation of the theme. “It can be seen as a road to a city, an entrance to heaven or even a path that leads towards God.”
Though Mustafa’s imagery of the city of dreams is of a serene, peaceful land in an urban developed landscape, he hasn’t ignored the prevalent violence that now dominates mega cities like Karachi. One can see the flower lotus growing in a blood red stream. “It depicts hope,” explains Mustafa. “Lotus has the potential to grow in dirt too. So, despite the conditions in the city, there is an element of hope and betterment.”
Mustafa’s works are on display till January 16.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2014.