Thesis exhibit: From Fading Lahore to Media Gardi

Work of 70 graphic design and illustration majors on display

LAHORE: The galleries of the Punjab University’s College of Art and Design brimmed with people on Thursday as 70 final-year graphic design and illustration majors displayed their work.

Student Khadija Ifzal created an awareness campaign for her thesis Fading Lahore. “The main idea is to ensure that Lahore’s culture takes its rightful place in development strategies and processes.” Ifazal said the underlying idea behind the campaign was to employ a sentimental approach regarding the glorious heritage of the city. She said it was unfortunate that a culture so beautiful and glorious was being ignored. “We have destroyed the buildings, buses, rickshaws that represent our culture. We need to take initiatives to save it. This is what I aspire to do with my work,” Ifazal said.

Hala Bokhari, another student, displayed her awareness campaign in eight mediums that included an installation, a video and posters. “The title of my thesis is Media Gardi. It is inspired by dehshat gardi (terrorism). I am really perturbed with the way the media functions, she said.

Student Mahwish Aslam said she had created an English book called Billu and the Beast for children. Aslam said her work was based on stories that one tended to hear as a child. She said she had chosen select frames from the story and displayed them here.

Afia Imran, another student, said she had designed a campaign for her thesis Dora-i-Azeem that was premised on reviving norms. Imran said she had kept trendsetting individuals and programmes such as vocalist Nazia Hasan, actor Sultan Rahi, singer Munni Begum and sitcom 50/50 in mind while fashioning her campaign.

Student Kasni Sohail premised her awareness campaign on substance abuse. “Teenagers constitute my target audience. They eulogise super heroes. Hence I have contexualised the concept,” she said.

Sohail said a superhero shouldered the sole responsibility of saving the world. She said such a person would fail to fulfil his duty if they happened to be an addict. Sohail said she had used popular heroes to demonstrate what substance abuse did to people.

Uswa Waheed, another student, displayed a promotional campaign that used the Lego Company. She said she had used the noted company to fashion four characters that represented the various provinces of Pakistan and one that was inspired by Maula Jutt.

Student Sumbal Nazir displayed an awareness campaign aimed at introducing the transgender community in a positive light. She said she had spent six months with individuals hailing from the community. Nazir said she had organised a photo shoot where she had told them to do as they pleased. She said this had made its high-end look possible. Ali Shah, another student, created an installation, a video and contemporary photographs regarding celebrated Urdu poet Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib. “His personality is so multifaceted that it is arduous to present it in just one way. I took his perception of God and worked around it,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2015.