Naiza Khan seems to be inspired equally by almost every artistic medium her multilayered body of artistic works covers paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures, videos and charcoal sketches in an exhibition titled 'The Weight of Things' at Koel Gallery, Karachi.
Being a Karachiite documenting and recording spaces and places of Karachi she also conveys her views and experiences she encounters living in this city of lights. Her artworks reflect her perspectives about the city of Karachi, about the life in this city and about the past, present, and future times encounter by this city. And hence she narrates hidden and revealed both sides of stories scattered around the city.
Her multi-layered paintings having different layers and sections reflect various times and places. A painting in oils titled "Small Creatures Glowing in the Dark" have some writings on its surface and on the upper right side of the painting word "Kurrachee" is written in block letters depicting the city of light's past, present and future in a unique way.
"An Invisible Landscape conditions the Visible One", "Map under construction" "Censored Sites/Sights" are some of her paintings depicting our society norms. Layering is an essential element of her paintings she juxtaposed real and imagined situations and creates a new ambiance in his paintings which portrays real life as well as the life of dreams.
Two videos "Homage" duration 13 minutes and 10 seconds shot in 2010 while "The Observatory" shot in 2012 is of 6 minutes duration. Both the videos deal with the tragedy observed by the city. "Homage" is a video created in memory of the children who were killed when a wall collapsed. And the other video "The Observatory" is about the ruins of an observatory on the island of Manora off the coast of Karachi.
Weather reports, tide tables that charted the movements of the Indian Ocean from 1939 found within the observatory. Inscribing destruction, ruin and colonial legacy and nautical almanacs from British India and post-partition are also a subject of her prints titled "Secrets from the Nautical Almanac 1966". She pinpoints a particular time in history of this city in the set of six prints.
Naiza explains her interest in the nautical almanacs, "The nautical almanacs contained advertisement for communication equipment, life raft and navigational tools for the Pakistan Navy and Karachi Port Trust. Athese images were remarkable examples of a mid-1960s design aesthetic. They also seemed to veil the anxiety of Cold War surveillance and to speak of a time before globalisation."
Another set of three digital C-type prints titled "Building Terrain" records the coastline and tides. Her objects cast in brass dimensions variable titled "Constellations Adrift" consists of various carved brass items wielded together forming a sculpture. Every piece is separately an individual object but collectively they made a single sculpture thus giving a clear message.
Naiza has done her photo project at the coastal areas mainly Manora Island. The selection of photographs reveals different stories and situations. A photograph show a playground with demolished slides and other structures suppose to be a recreational place for kids but now in ruins. Another series of photos depicts discarded school furniture at the shores providing a view of disturbing situation. How our education system works and what is the position of education in our society.She also photographed huge ships in the ocean and small boats at the harbour.
Her charcoal drawings are as appealing as her paintings in watercolour and oils. Titled "How We Mark the Land Becomes Part of its History", a charcoal drawing captures the city's weather and atmosphere in 19th century. Other drawings "Merry-go-round" and "Her Body in Four Parts" deals with certain social issues.
Thus Naiza Khan explores and records different experiences and memories of past and present in her body of work and shares her feelings and knowledge she gained during her visits to various places. She tried to preserve not only the tangible but also intangible moments and environment in her works that's why she uses all mode of art to keep alive the history and the forgotten past.
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