Sincere, downright and frank in expressing opinions Moeen Faruqi disclosed undeniable truths in his paintings. Having specific style his paintings depicted unidealistic, sensuous world around us. His paintings were not unusual but simple and boring as they tackle the common issues relating to this world. He talked about present times with the glimpses of past to convey his point of view on certain everyday problems faced by ordinary people while living their lives in this world.
The mundane ambience of Moeen's paintings in a solo exhibition at Canvas Gallery, Karachi attracted the viewers because of the naked truth discussed through them.
While going through his paintings one may think he is unsophisticated and artless but on observing thoroughly his painting began to reveal the harsh realities of life.
His paintings were ingenious and plain yet full of ignorant matters that needed to be addressed. On one hand admirably straightforward and uncomplicated while on the other refreshingly innocent and unaffected his paintings reflected his intellect.
The images, compositions and contents in his paintings showed naïve approach towards the subjects. He added or subtracted elements in his paintings to create dialogue other than bright colour palette. Some of the paintings had urban backgrounds while others had portraits of various known and unknown personalities.
His paintings revealed emotions and feelings, a process of causing somebody to become unfriendly, unsympathetic, or hostile, towards others and also somebody's estrangement causing unfriendly attitude toward somebody else.
He used symbols to complete his stories in the paintings like fish, cat, horse, crow and moon. These all symbols helped him explaining his paintings messages. He also painted triptych paintings to elaborate his subjects. The images of men and women dominated his works. The portraits of humans along with animals in square shaped patterns were indicative of many different blocks of life.
Other than humans and animals images he used different everyday use objects bottles, book, table and glasses showing man's association with his surrounding. Without being too descriptive or direct the artist compositions showed understandable contents.
Manifesting multiple feelings and experiences his paintings were like a chain of events. He adopted pictorial style of painting which helped him in creating ambiguous compositions. But the epicenter of his paintings was human beings and the world around. He discussed the interaction of humans with the surrounding objects and environment and with other humans and the relationship of humans with one another and the world including living and non-living objects.
The animals in his paintings were not only worldly but symbolically used to connect his subject of interest with the world. The individuals in his paintings were always accompanied by an object or an animal except portrait paintings. His paintings seemed to cover the whole family in his paintings the parents, the children and their pets of course. He painted women in sari and men in sherwani representing a generation of people belonged to post-partition. There was a sense of alienation in the paintings that portray that era.
He wanted to paint everybody around him in his painting. He wanted to share their lives with him and others also. The struggles, pain and joys and happiness all feelings and experiences when shared made people alleviated and that's what Moeen really wanted.
He presented the moments and incidents in the lives of people that provoked viewers to analyse their own lives and find the same situation in the painting as they have faced in reality.
The people in his paintings seemed to be in a trance without emotions or feelings but slowly and gradually viewers realise their own stories facing them in a painting. The numbness of the characters in paintings actually provokes people to fill the emotional gaps by themselves.
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