Nazia uses art to explore perception and identity

Islamabad: My work explores themes of perception and identity. Our perception of the environment, of others, and also ourselves, is influenced by external factors that shape our understanding, sometimes unknowingly. This work is about the correlation between the social environment and our perception of it.

It was in these words that artist Australian-Pakistani artist Nazia Ejaz described her latest collection of art, which went on display at Tanzara here on Monday. Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson will inaugurate the show.

Titled ‘This is about nothing II,’ Nazia’s work is avant-garde in nature. “Emphasizing on repetitive patterns and lines, she translates her thoughts into exquisite linear rhythms. Her canvases emphasize on patterns comprising curves, loops, and circles to create their own magical effect. The compositions are balanced and accommodated within a scheme of rhythm and flow. There prevails an atmosphere of ease and fluency,” Tanzara’s director Noshi Qadir stated in her analysis at the show’s preview.

How an individual perceives and relates to the social environment, and the idea of connection and separation is the basis of Nazia’s work. She uses geometry and patterns which continue the theme of ‘screens’ that has been central to her recent practice. “Within the Indo/Islamic architecture tradition, screens are used for separation, for demarcating a space, for forming boundaries, for shrouding and revealing, depending on the perspective of the viewer. Similarly, the motif of the grid operates as a screen while the patterns express notions of cultural difference and similarity.

Nazia hails from Lahore and is the daughter of melody queen Noor Jehan. She graduated from the National College of Arts, Lahore, in 1992 before going to London for her Masters in Visual Arts from the Slade School of Art, UCL in 1996. Further on, she acquired her graduate diploma in Indian Art History form School of Asian and African Studies (SOAS) / Sotheby’s - London, in 1996 and Master of Visual Art and Creative Practice from University of South Australia in 2016. She has numerous group and solo exhibitions on her credit in various countries including Australia, UK and Pakistan.

The exhibition will continue till September 24.