Examining resilience & sustainability of belief through art

Islamabad
Seeking to examine the resilience and sustainability of belief while exploring the world of legend and histories, and making an effort to identify the inherent belief in a higher power, artist duo Dua Abbas Rizvi and Sarah Hashmi presents their art works on display at an exhibition ‘The Glowing Ambers Within’ opening at Serena’s Satrang Gallery on Wednesday.
Ambassador of Austria Blaha Brigitta inaugurated the exhibition and shared keen appreciation on the thought provoking contemporary art works by the talented artists. Introducing the exhibition, Asma Rashid Khan, Founder Director of Satrang said that the Gallery ushers in its fourth year with this exhibition ‘The Glowing Embers Within’, featuring the works of two brilliant contemporary artists. Welcoming the guests at the special anniversary show, Asma said that in the past 36 months the gallery has hosted 35 exhibitions, diverse in their concept and execution, opening a dialogue amongst the various components of the art world. ‘The gallery has been home to the works art of 141 nationally and internationally acclaimed artists as we strongly believe art and culture build great bridges between people and countries’ Asma said.
Introducing the artists and their creative concept presented in their works, the Curator of the show Zahra Khan said that the works of the artist duo reflect the devoted nature of faith - be it in an idea, an individual, a cause, a nation or a being. Through the paintings in this exhibition, the artist duo demonstrates and explores the strength of conviction which sustains, empowers and fulfils those who possess it. Their work presents an opportunity for viewers to identify the expansive range of their own beliefs and ideas on their exploratory journey, Zahra said.
Dua Rizvi’s paintings, which show women in elaborate decadence, refer back to former bygone eras and histories. She creates scenes based upon legends and stories where she selects symbols and motifs, and utilizes them to create new narratives. Her subjects and depictions are familiar both because of the familiarity of the legend which they may refer to, and also because of the recognizable, modern twists she sometimes includes.
In her creative statement, Dua says, ‘Irrespective of where they come from and in what state of completeness they reach you, stories leave you with a heap of symbols and motifs and inexplicable bits that become as lodged in your memory as the other, more explicable bits. There is always a symbol, motif, or one such inexplicable bit from a story or the memory of a story — a fragment, a snippet — in my mind when I work and in some vague, blurred, anachronistic way it becomes part of a new narrative. I dress my present-day models in makeshift medieval attire; sometimes, their regular clothes do as well. The props are odd and shiny objects that I like to gather; sometimes, they are commonplace objects that I insist on giving symbolic value. The backdrops are clearings, corridors, nooks and crannies that I have photographed at home or on travels — any sight that seemed to have a story or could just lend itself to a jumbled-up re-enactment of one, as my work is a means for me to re-enact stories, add to and subtract from stories, and perhaps create some in the process.
Sarah Hashmi’s work is composed of brightly painted scenes of stark vulnerability and hardship. Yet, despite the lack of comfort, due to the painter’s skilful use of paint, her subjects glow. Hashmi has portrayed their inexhaustible belief in a higher power and a destiny. Her subjects brim over with hope and joy and love, by-products of their unshakeable faith in their ultimate purpose.
Like Rizvi’s legends and stories, which are indestructible although not unchangeable despite the passage of time, Hashmi’s subjects protect their faith and hope, which in turn protect and sustain them despite their intangible nature. This deep flame of hope unites the individuals portrayed in these paintings.
In her creative statement, Sarah Hashmi says, ‘The series that I am currently working on is titled ‘That which does not exist enters where there is no crevice’. This is a verse taken from Lao Tzu’s book called Tao Te Ching. This verse inspired me the most because it is based on a very universal truth, that God, hope and faith exists everywhere. I am working on crowds or groups of people who are apparently together, yet aloof and distant with each other. I am trying to depict each individual in the crowd as a separate troubled soul, however I am also giving a hint of faith and hope through the use of patterns. Patterns in my work portray repetition; we repeat God’s name a hundred times saying the same prayer at the end of each Salah. Like saying the name of God before each meal repeatedly as if somehow it ensures and instils the presence of God and therefore ‘hope’ for a better tomorrow.