Artists through a diversity of mediums and concepts expressed the 'Tradition and Tension' of our society due to dilapidated situation of our country in a group show at Artscene Gallery recently.
A collection of 19 paintings by five young artists; Amjad Ali Talpur, Imran Channa, Asif Ahmed, Hammad Malik and Nizam Dahiri using various mediums like gouache on wasli, graphite on paper, syah qalam on wasli, mix media on wasli, oil on canvas, tried to explain their feelings and experiences which tradition and tension have created in their lives.
Amajd Ali Talpur's work covers today's attitudes of media and politics. He tried to bring out the concept that drives media, which shows new images and told new truths about the society thus by manipulating images of media and politicians he explain the situation common man experiencing now-a-days. His work in this series is three dimensional.
The images in paintings appear different from different angles that are an image in an image is the style he adopted. He used three different images in one painting and in the same way he portrayed one image with three different angles. He painted a single painting in a pair with one image clear and the other like a jigsaw puzzle showing in many angles the moods of that personality, of course depicting tradition and tension side by side.
His still images in gouache on wasli thus provides viewer a deeper look in a personality keeping in mind the theme of the show, like Noor Jahan, General Zia-ul-Haq and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Imran Channa's paintings are in historical perspective raising questions about our history. Eight enlarge Mughal kings in graphite on paper some what blur represent the power of Mughal dynasty, which will always be praised for its splendid architecture.
The magnificent artwork done in the historical buildings are the remains of our glorious past and thus reveals our powerful and aesthetic rulers who nurtured such an unforgettable heritage for their future generation. But Imran wants to discover the reasons and conditions behind these splendid buildings through his blur images, which results in such master pieces in architecture.
Thus he tried to show another side of the picture to the viewers that always cover behind the glittering mask of power. He urged to look behind the mask and see the real picture. He like to see an authentic history without any manipulation by the powerful and present the picture of reality for the future generation.
Asif Ahmed's paintings in mix media on wasli are colourful and attractive. He uses different popular images and make a new visual expression with iconography. He chooses body, especially human body, to express the traditional condition and tension situation of the images showing step by step changes that occur during the passage of time when tension roses day by day leaving no space for people to breathe in a safe and secure atmosphere.
His miniature style iconic paintings reveal that not a single position is perfect for any image he represents in the painting. The perfect position, a traditional one is yet to come. Hammad Malik expresses multiple views about his surroundings in gouache in wasli. He took images from our daily life and changed their meaning in life through overlapping imagery technique. He tried to show different perspectives of the society like airplane, key, chair and headphone.
He showed army artillery in one image in a headphone thus depicting a political scenario and fruits in an aeroplane show social behaviour towards common consumption items, thus he tried to unlock different situation and views about that situation. Nizam Dahiri's split imagery in oil on canvas in bold colours correctly represents the current chaotic situation of our country.
On giant size canvases he uses famous architectural icons of Pakistan to enhance the present scenario, which not only reflects the condition of the society but also reflects an inner self of the artist, which is shaken by the surrounding happenings. His sensitivity can easily be seen on his canvas which realistically depicts the theme 'tradition and tension'. Our national monuments shattered by the overall condition of the country may it be political or social. nadeemzuberi71@gmail.com