Ceramics and drawing are age-old mode used by people to show their artistic skills world over. Ancient civilizations used drawings and ceramics in their daily life as excavations from Harappa, Indus Valley, Egyptian and other cites revealed. And artists Abdullah M. I. Syed, Ali Kazim, Naima Dadabhoy, Noor Ali Chagani and Sadia Salim through their diverse practices including drawing and ceramics explored traditional as well as contemporary use of these media in a group exhibition titled "Drawn to Form II: Marking New Spaces" at Koel Gallery, Karachi.
The artists' artworks were homage to local traditions and reflections of contemporary prospects. Through their work they tried to find similarities as well as diversity thus sharing their perception with reality. Each work touched the spirituality and society both in one piece representing poetic and sublime elements.
Abdullah M. I. Syed artworks reflected spirituality. He used rose petals to portray his inner self in a unique style. He has chosen rose because of this flowers importance for people in a spiritual way. People spread rose petals on graves of their loved ones to pay respect and love. Rose especially red rose has became a symbol of purification and essence of love. The withered rose flowers have also the same significance as the fresh ones therefore the artist used both fresh and withered flowers to made portrait of a man. The colour of both flowers was also indicative of spiritual values and social values.
He tried to connect himself to the spiritual world through a video titled "Kundan" in this video he showed how the human body itself was molded with clay and water and forged with fire and air maintain a balanced identity in this world.
Ali Kazim's ceramics work was a result of his inspiration from ruins along the old path of the River Ravi where ruins of an ancient city were discovered over a period of time unveiling pottery and an old civilization. His work was an example of how heritage effects present time.
Naima Dadabhoy tried to connect her work with her family's past as her family owned ceramic factory, Dadabhoy Ceramics, which opened in Karachi in 1962 but later on sold in 1996. Her works showed rabbit, turtles, fox and birds in her wonderland DCI series. Recalling her childhood she created animal forms in ceramics which she wished to be printed on the ceramics wares of her factory. In a way she made her family dreams alive in her ceramics works.
Noor Ali Chagani's drawing and terracotta works presented the idea of creating forms by a line or clay. He continuously examine the moments of construction and deconstruction in the formation of a particular structure here he used various line in a number of drawing works that showed the drawings progress in the beginning, in between and in the end. Similarly he made terracotta wall to clear his concept of evolution and continuous changes that occur within a body through moments, years and centuries.
Sadia Salim ceramics works were both the reflections as well as shadows of the found objects that we relate to other time and civilization. She molded branches, stems, pods and nets and beehives which she picked up while wondering around into beautiful ceramic objects to preserve them for the younger generation to see and study. Her works take the form of ruins hidden in deposits during years of exposure to sand, air and heat. So she documents these elements to remember and record them for future.
(The writer can be reached at nadeemzuberi71@gmail.com)