It runs in the family: Trio display distinct, creative artworks

Husband, wife and daughter showcase ceramics, jewellery and miniatures.

ISLAMABAD: An exhibition of ceramics, clay jewellery and miniatures by three artists goes on display at the Nomad gallery on Monday (today).

Interestingly, the artists come from the same family and have showcased their creativity in an elaborate, all-encompassing manner.

Ceramist Shahid Waheed creates abstract forms and figurines which seem to be a cross between sculpture and pottery. However, he said that over time, his work has turned into more sculptural forms by altering the thrown pieces or hand-built forms.

“My main source of inspiration is people, their movements and their postures as they go about their lives in different places and circumstances,” said the artist, who is also currently teaching at the National College of the Arts in Rawalpindi.

Most of his work in the current exhibition is what he calls “minimal figurines” and they come in small to medium sizes, as the artist said he could not make larger pieces for reasons unknown to him.

Using understated, subtle tones, Waheed creates smooth, finished contours in ceramic, stoneware clay body and terracotta surfaces. There is an unmistakable touch of gloom in each of the figurative pieces, with their heads titled while others seem to be kneeling in submission, exuding an almost meditative essence.

Jamila Shahid, his wife, has converted her love for clay into jewellery pieces, blending beads, semi-precious stones into intricate design. A recurring theme in her amulets and bangles is that of spiraling, coil-shaped structures and its variations.

The chunky pieces are a manifestation of her reflections on old civilisations, where nomads used to wear jewellery made from organic materials. Some bear medieval-looking inscriptions, while others have more direct references such as figurative forms, sea creatures, traditional Sindhi motifs and a Buddha-inspired pendant.

“The delicacy of making coils in clay fascinates me. As I rotate, twist and pinch the element to morph different shapes, my moods, emotions and feelings all get transformed into the textured forms in the process,” she said.

Komal Shahid, their daughter, has illustrated socio-political complexities through her miniature pieces. She has titled the series “The life riddle” where, she said there is a lack of consciousness and self-awareness among individuals.

“I feel it is a puppet theatre we are living in. Maybe we are puppets or maybe I’m the puppeteer or maybe the puppeteer is never shown. So that is the riddle. But then, the reality is so harsh and I want to show the same vibrance we like looking at,” she said, underlining the ambivalent theme in her artworks.

She has employed thread strings to depict this idea, taking symbols from Mughal and Persian miniature styles such as monarchs for influential forces and water for time.

There is a dark playfulness about her work, which also takes symbols such as puzzle pieces, thread-rolled wooden sticks and a baby portrait of the artist herself.

In another of her more traditional art pieces, Shahid has experimented with different techniques using siyaah qalam, ornamentation through arabesque, pyrography and gadrang to create the desired effect.

Finally, a portrait of her brother from his childhood smiles back at the viewer, framed by a Victorian border reference and symmetrical, monochromatic borders.

Nageen Hyat, the gallery curator, remarked that the family of talented artists has presented some visually aesthetic pieces which complement one another.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2rd, 2015.