Saigol combines traditional imagery with powerful contemporary disposition

Islamabad: Karachi-based artist Shakil Saigol was featured Thursday at Tanzara Gallery with a strong and definitive body of work that transcends boundaries. The artist has flown to Islamabad for the solo show.

Titled ‘Abhinaya,’ the 13 oil on canvas paintings included in the exhibition demonstrate how the artist’s rich aesthetic vocabulary evocatively combines traditional imagery with a powerful contemporary disposition. “In this exhibition, Saigol focuses on the myriad form of Abhinaya for inspiration. Characterised by strong metaphors, imagery and intricately worked canvases, his work exudes both boldness and fragility. In works like this, the artist captures fleeting emotions and ephemeral instances of his feelings with a lucidity that stems from his highly developed skill and technique.

Saigol is a prolific artist who cannot recall a time when he didn’t paint. “As a child, I would recreate illustrations from magazines, paint flowers and leaves. In my adolescent years, I started sketching portraits of my classmates. The subject I enjoyed painting most was the human form; not so obvious to me then, I was clearly on my way to becoming a figurative artist,” he mentions in his statement.

“Winters in Lahore were something we looked forward to. Getting away from our home in Pindi, 12 miles away from town, was joyous. Spending giddy days with umpteen cousins and nights at the annual Music Festival are among my happiest memories. Listening to Bade Ghulam Ali Sahib, Roshan Ara Begum, the young Iqbal Bano and watching Indrani Rahman and Yamini Krishnamurthy dance—these were heady experiences to imbibe. Later, I was to have the good fortune to see dancers like Sonal Mansingh, Uma Sharma and the Reddys perform. In the 70s, the mother-daughter duo of Mrinalini and Mallika Sarabai came to stay with us. Watching Amma, as we called Mrinalini Ji, cook for us was to see a dance recital,” Saigol adds.

Dance has been a preoccupation in Saigol’s work. As a matter of fact, he is unable to paint without listening to Kishori Amonkar or Bhimsen Joshi! “Among my preoccupations is the ‘saree’ in its various forms, just as the Kashmir shawls or ‘jamavars’ and other textiles such as ‘kilms’ and carpets are recurrent elements,” he adds. In this body of work, the ‘jamavar’ shawls provide a backdrop while surrealistic forms in the foreground are suggested.

“I am drawn to surrealistic work again as I was thirty years ago. To those critics of my art practice who object to the diversity of subjects that I paint, I would say the message may vary but the elements that run through the various series are consistent. In painting the human form, textiles, foliage, sculpture my inclination towards surrealism often emerges. I reiterate the influence that Dali, Rousseau and Hockney have wielded on my creative impulses,” the artist said.

Saigol has innumerable unpainted images in his imagination. “In my twilight years, I am impatient to put them on paper or canvas,” he concluded. A visit to the exhibition, which will continue till April 11 at Tanzara, Saidpur Village, will certainly be a worthwhile and memorable experience for art lovers of the twin cities.