Quiet conversations

A group of artists tried to find their true self through figurative paintings in a show under the title "Figuratively Speaking" at Full Circle Gallery, Karachi. The figures of both men and women seemed to be emerging from the darkness into a new world of awareness where they could discover their own being. The subjects of paintings were sombre yet provocative showing characters in soft tones having quiet conversations with the viewers.
Ammama Malik's work deal with the woman's body as human form she made her point by using interplay between light and the figure thus discussing the importance of awareness of the problems and then dealing with it. She used light and shadows symbolically to define hidden and revealed aspects of life.
Her paintings show figures with faces on the other side thus hiding their identity and deal with them as a human being. When a person was alone he/she stripped off all external forces like societal pressure that normally make people behave the way they do and they can act the way they wanted without any social force. They don't have to hide. They were stars of their own world.
Anas Abro talk to others through his paintings. It was a way of communicating with viewers and sharing his thoughts and perceptions. He was much inspired by the human body its texture and the combination of various muscles and bones that created many different gestures that revealed their own expressions. These expressions can be of love and joy, hate and sorrow.
Ayesha Naveed thought that what a person could speak through his/her body can outweigh what people speak through words. She explored the idea of body language which is another universal way to communicate with people other than words. Body language could easily express emotions better than words.
Initially she painted her father sitting idly on a sofa watching TV. Then she started to paint other people she came through in everyday life. Her paintings were devoid of faces so the viewers can imagine the character they met in their lives that resembles the painting.
She found it more interesting to share her thoughts and experiences and emotions through figurative paintings. All the people she portrayed were sitting on a sofa in different postures. Although devoid of face they depicted a full personality and the scenario in which the character was sitting. May it be a woman or a boy or a young man the dressing and the postures say it all.
Faten Suleman's work was inspired by John Koenig's saying "We should consider memory itself an art form, where the work of art is never finished, only abandoned."
As everybody knows nobody can go back and erase bad decisions, avail missed opportunities, delete thoughtless choices that in future will mess their lives. We deliberately remember bad experiences although we can save our good memories and rewind and replay them whenever we like.
Our past experiences reflected in our future planning and work. The same way Faten's work revealed his past experiences that he wanted to see in a new way. When you go through the same experience again and again it evolves and forms a new meaning.
Various creatures along with women forms in his paintings were symbolic representation of incidents and individuals he came across during life. By doing so he realised that even the most unpleasant of memories can be viewed from a neutral lens which can help one understand the natural process of life.
Hassan Shah Gillani's drawings were in angular framing similar to a keyhole. His figurative drawings depicted body structures away from face thus focusing on body gestures not facial expressions. Hence his works created a dialogue between the viewer and the figure.
The work was descriptive, adding a surreal touch to his work and makes a painting more than just an image. He created vivid texture, which discussed human psychology and emotions in detail.
The artists showed the complexities as well as simplicity of life side by side to compliment and highlight the other.
The two sides of a coin can be seen in different drawings and paintings of different artists but they know every aspect of life in our society.
They revealed how people undergo various circumstances and overcome the odds of life and yet live a happy and peaceful life that one can imagine.