The other side: A show that brings to light the inner self

Work of six artists on displayed at Paint Bucket Gallery

LAHORE: Dozens of art lovers attended an exhibition held at the Paint Bucket Gallery on Saturday. The event titled: Tall Tales to Tell showcased the work of six artists. Hassnain Awais, a Lahore-based artist, displayed his collagraph pieces.

Awais completed his BFA from the National College of Arts (NCA) in 2005 in printmaking. He is currently teaching at the Punjab University College of Art and Design (PUCAD).

Awais’ work revolves around the ‘beast’ within. “My work is inspired by an old saying that every person has an animal inside. I started incorporating this idea in my work and started placing animal heads on human figures,” he said.

“With each animal, and the posture of the human body, the character changes. Every animal has its own characteristics,” he said.

Mehreen Fatima, a Karachi-based artist, completed her BFA from the NCA with a major in painting in 2015. Fatima has displayed three mixed media and paper on paper pieces. Her work explores her surroundings. “I try to comprehend the relationship between a man and the space he occupies by using the technique of scraping and painting through layers of papers. This shows that long after one is gone, the space seems to hold the evidence of his presence,” she said.

Hoor Ahmed graduated from the NCA in 2015 with a BFA in miniature painting. She has exhibited five mixed media pieces, gouache on wasli and gouache with some gold leaf on wasli. “My work is based on my personal experiences. I relive them by painting portraits and life-sized figures placed in a surrealist atmosphere,” she said.

Fariha Taj graduated from The Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture with a BFA in 2013. Taj had a major in painting and a minor in photography. Taj has two pieces in the show, using digital painting and pen and acrylic on paper. “My work is based on my city, Karachi. Being a part of a place like Karachi, I convey the energy of places which I come across,” Taj said.

“I witness structures and roads and how different they are from each other. However, I feel like they are all as interconnected as the city’s cable network,” she said.

Mairam Hanif graduated from the NCA in 2009 with a BFA in printmaking. She later did an MPhil from the NCA in 2014. Hanif displayed three pieces using mixed media. “My work is based on anthropomorphism, where non-living things start to have attributes of humans or animals. It is all about my own imagination. Mystery has always fascinated me,” she said.

Fatima Batool completed her BFA in painting from NCA in 2015. Batool has exhibited two ink, acrylic and charcoal-on-canvas pieces. “My work shows the constant confusion in our brain; questions leading to more questions,” she said.

Anum Lashari, the curator for the exhibition, praised the artists. “We try to get the artists that have not gotten much exposure. We tried this time to field six exceptional artists,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2015.