The contemporary art by youngsters in the present time aid to harness the transformative power of art to promote awareness, provoke dialogue and inspire action. So do the artworks by the final year students of Centre of Excellence Art and Design (CEAD), Jamshoro in their Thesis show.
The show reflected the young students' social perceptions and interactions with the society. While visiting Centre of Excellence Art and Design (CEAD), Jamshoro I noted that students from all over the country study here not only from province of Sindh students from other three provinces are learning here as CEAD also has a hostel.
The difference that I observed between the NCA, Lahore and CEAD, Jamshoro was teachers' involvement with their students. The teacher student relationship was very strong. The teachers Abdul Malik Channa, Amjad Ali Talpur and Shaukat Khokar worked side by side with students in arranging their artworks in the gallery for the show.
The display arrangement was very good. And students explained and elaborate their work very beautifully and thoroughly. They knew what they were doing their concepts were clear and they tried their best to produce desired results according to their respective themes.
Like most of the youngsters these artists also wanted to bring change in society through their work. They wanted to break the glass ceiling. By experimenting ambiguous mediums deriving nuanced meaning by using subtle colours and forms they were creating awareness among the masses.
The artists used their creativity, experiences and perceptions in shaping their artworks. Therefore viewers encounter many different themes and subjects at a time while going through artworks of the young artists. Various works reflected the self conception, contradiction, aspirations and consciousness of the artists. Hence the show revealed the ideas and understanding of the present time by the younger generation.
I found the shades of different feelings in the artworks at the show. Some have soothing and calming rays of hope which touches the mind and soul while other portrays tense and bad experiences that clinches to the memories. The obscure personal imagery of these artists indicated their diverse thoughts and diverse ways of representing their personal emotions.
Our young artists are more open and candid in sharing their inner feelings and thoughts. Their opinions about the world outside and around are mirrored in their artworks - paintings, installations and videos. The entire compositions of the exhibited works with humans, objects, shapes, colours and abstract formations the artists tried to communicate with the outer world.
The thesis show included the artworks of students: Aina Hussain Memon, Amar Zaib, Azad, Shahzeb Mughal, Dua Sadia, Kainat Hyder, Kainat Qadir, Kashaf Khero, Khushi Hussain, Maria Soomro, Mehak Shaikh, Nabita Zafar, Sandleen Maqsood, Sanjha, Sanober Hassan Rajar, Sehrish, Shobna, Simran, Soomal Sario, Tayyab Ahmed, Zainab Sajid, Zohra and Zuhaib Mirbahar. (The writer can be reached at nadeemzuberi71@gmail.com)