Unique take: Artist shifts focus on little things

Irfan Hakim’s art pieces on insects on display at Khaas Art Gallery till March 31.

ISLAMABAD: An exhibition featuring recent artworks by the artist Irfan Hakim opened up at the Khaas Art Gallery.

Titled, ‘Larvae’ the show features a collection of sculpture-based installation art pieces which take the form of creepy, crawly insects.

Whether it is a spider weaving a large cobweb, crabs and snails lining a make-shift sea-shore, ants moving in a queue or fire flies and mosquitoes suspended from the ceiling, the creatures crafted from stone, marble and brass depict the essence of the fragile creatures.

Alia Bilgrami, the gallery curator said that whereas people typically tend to ignore insects in the environment, Hakim has not only observed them but he has also taken the trouble to celebrate them in a way.

Sculptures of insects put on display at the Khaas Art Gallery. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD JAVED/ EXPRESS

“[Hakim] has made them much larger-than-life to accentuate their beauty and their importance. We, as artists, are usually caught up in trying to depict human emotions or human struggles and it is interesting to see such a perspective on insects,” she said.

Though exuding a raw feel overall, the finished pieces are intricately designed and put together with attention-to-detail. The metallic and plastic wings have fine lines, illustrating miniscule vein patterns and the grey pebbles are complemented by aqua stones fitted neatly in the respective crevices and molds.

Hakim said that through the art pieces, he was highlighting the ignorance or indifference in failing to notice and acknowledge insects in daily life. “The beauty and systematic way of life that those creatures follow often goes unnoticed by us and this is the main essence I would like to bring out in my work,” he said.

Jamal Shah, artist and founder of Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing arts, who attended the exhibition said: “[Hakim] is a very talented alumnus of Hunerkada and he has presented a totally different take on sculptures.”

Cristina Afridi, another guest at the exhibition, said: “You have to have a house, a wall and a style to display this kind of art. But it’s very interesting work and the fact that the artist got inspired by insects is also a unique idea.”

Hakim has graduated from Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing Arts and he is currently teaching sculpture at the National College of the Arts in Rawalpindi.

The current exhibition will continue till March 31.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2015.