Islamabad
Presenting their dialogue and expression in figures through realism, surrealism, miniature work, and collage on a variety of mediums including canvas, paper and wasli, a group of five artists have contributed their work to ‘Figurative Lexis,’ an exhibition that opens at Gallery 6 here today (Saturday).
The participating artists are Sajida Hussain, Farhat Gul, Wajid Daharkiwala, Mehr-un-nisa and Jasmine Michael.
Sajida Hussain did a diploma in painting and sculpture from Hunerkada, Islamabad, in 1999 and then advanced her training in painting by attending classes for two years at the studio of Masoor Rahi and Hajra Mansoor. She had her first solo exhibition in Karachi in 2000, and since then, has held several solo exhibitions and group shows over a period of 16 years to her credit. Her woman on canvas is surrounded by vibrant cheerful colours and romantic objects. According to her teacher Mansoor Rahi, “Sajida maintains well, the integration in formal form and void surface through using soft value and light, which creates an impact of fantasy.” Her medium of expression is oil on canvas.
Farhat Gul has done Bachelors in Fine Arts (Honors) from Punjab University, Lahore. She was associated with UNESCO as Program Specialist (Culture) and has initiated and implemented several significant projects of conservation at the Lahore Fort, Shalimar Gardens, and the Shahi Hammam. Gul is now a freelance painter and covers multiple themes including landscapes, wild horses, floral compositions; calligraphy, etc. However, her current work focused on people and cultures of Pakistan. Employing realism, her work is done creatively in mixed media on canvas, as is evident in ‘Malang,’ ‘Coutesan,’ and ‘Woman behind door.’ Apart from painting, the artist is an accomplished poetess and writes poetry in both English and Urdu. One of her compilations, ‘Etchings in Time’ has recently been published in Ontario, Canada.
Wajid Daharkiwala completed his Bachelors in Fine Arts with honours in 2004 from the Department of Visual Studies, University of Karachi and Masters in Visual Art from NCA Lahore in 2010. He was the key member of the project W11 – Karachi to Melbourne Project for the Commonwealth Games 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. Currently, he is teaching at the Department of Fine Arts, School of Art, Design and Architecture, University of Gujrat as assistant professor. His two figurative paintings in the show with minimal lines and dots in bright colours creates surrealistic effects.
Mehr-un-Nisa spent a lot of time collecting and playing with domestic waste materials in her childhood. She used to make architectural models, greeting cards and other items. Even her graduation thesis in fine arts from CEAD Jamshoro was titled GARB-AGE indicating her continuing fascination with recycling domestic waste. She continues to play with it and create artistic compositions. In this exhibition, she has created faces of girls and boys of Sindh using waste. These are the children who collect garbage and the artist has tried to capture their innocence and happiness through collage work, using waste material in very creative way.
Jasmine Michael earned her Bachelors in Fine Arts in 2015 from the National College of Arts, Rawalpindi, where she selected miniature painting as her mode. Her current work is based on the mockery of our social conducts. She comments “Responding with our actions to the conventions of this world, our brain is cultured in a manner which fails to question these common practices. My paintings also share a comment on hierarchy, which develops inside every individual’s shoe closet with the class difference ranging from labour class to elite. Using footwear as a metaphor, I weave personal experiences and connect them to the broader picture of our society.”
The exhibition will continue till September 29 daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Gallery 6, Second Floor, Al-Abraaj Centre, Super Market, F-6.