A visual mystery on display

LAHORE:An exhibition of Dr Ayesha Siddiqui’s artwork titled "Mystery" was inaugurated by veteran artist and teacher Salima Hashmi at Shakir Ali Museum here on Wednesday.

Ayesha explores the ideas of concealment and camouflage through a geometrically structured visual vocabulary formulated from geometrically orchestrated gestural layers of paint and painted grids, tiny squares and rectangles in her own words.

The works on display are created with the intention to remain indecipherable. Salima Hashmi said, “To keep doing work without caring for other’s attention, is no mean thing. Ayesha is dedicated, not fashionable, doesn’t care if someone will buy her work or write on it.

She is convinced of the value of working. She works with great respect for the medium. She reads, writes and paints. Whether that ‘mystery’ is unraveled or not, doesn’t matter.” Sughra Sadaf who heads Punjab Institute of Language and Culture (PILAC) was also there. Speaking on the occasion, she said Dr Ayesha Siddiqui had held three exhibitions at Punjab Institute of Language and Culture.

“Artists are messengers of peace. There is a great need for tolerance and spreading love. Dr Ayesha’s works, she said. “It is up to the viewer to decipher its meaning and interpret as he/she perceives the works,” she said.

Dr Ayesha Siddiqui received six gold medals during her distinguished academic career. She has the honour of representing Pakistan in the 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th Asian Art Biennale in Dhaka and the 3rd and 4th Art Expo in Beijing. She has 17 solo shows of paintings and drawings to her credit. Currently she is working on her book ‘Unintelligible Surfaces’. —Saadia Salahuddin