Speaking through art: Young artists express challenges of being a woman

Artworks highlight various aspects of being a woman in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

ISLAMABAD: An art exhibition showcasing miniatures, prints and paintings opened at Nomad Art Gallery on Saturday.

Titled “Safar”, the exhibition chronicles the artistic journeys of three young artists — Samreen Asif, Moina Malik and Manizha Janbaz — at an enclosed space “Shanaakht” that takes its name from the in-house Shanakht Trust and revolves around identity. The new space has been created to highlight the art of emerging artists.

“The show is a delightful mix of artworks and will evoke a strong response from art lovers,” said Nageen Hyat, the gallery curator.

Malik’s canvases portray deeply personal emotions and life experiences, intertwining the joys and sorrows of life. Using the same plate to create two prints, “Vistas of life”, she depicts various stages of her life in a poignant manner.

Her series entitled “Women in doldrums” explores the challenges that come with being a woman. She has related the life of a woman to that of a honey bee. “Pakistani women are living a life of continuous struggle and sacrifice. They share the destiny of the Queen Bee and face perils to save their hives and homes and ultimately die,” she said.

She has also addressed the impact of drug use among youth, using strong symbols of humans entangled in a maze of cobwebs, decaying into hollow skeletons.

Janbaz, who has been working at the gallery for about six years, has been exposed to a plethora of arts and techniques in that time. Her new collection of mixed media, “Untold narratives”, revolves around the lives of women in her land of origin, Afghanistan.

“I’ve tried to show the conflict situations that women face over there. They are forced to wear burqas and when I put myself in their shoes, I can imagine that it is a really difficult life to live,” said the artist, who has used the symbol of bottles to represent burqas. Other symbols that occur in her paintings are more literal and direct, such as chains, rolled up papers and bricks.

The paintings represent an ambivalence of sacrifice and success in a sharp contrast of fluorescent hues offset by dark charcoal contours. Her work is bold as she reminisces of “the daunting past” and specter of the forces that surround “the wide streets of the beautiful valley of Kabul.”

Meanwhile, Asif has taken an atypical approach to miniature, presenting her pieces in the style of contemporary painting. She draws inspiration from and portrays elements of the Kangra, Pahari, Persian, Chinese and Japanese schools of thought. She experiments with styles to break out of traditional art practices.

Her artworks depict women with hope and liberty, replete with dramatic hues in a romantic atmosphere. “I have taken some challenges to beautify my subjects with a modern touch. Moonlight, white swans and lotus flowers add a surreal dimension with the figurative form to create the mood,” she said. She has used herbal and water colours on traditional wasli — a handmade sheet of miniature.

The exhibition will continue till January 31.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2015.