The unbelievable sharpness and depth of thought in ‘Seeds of CEAD’

The ArtKaam Gallery on Saturday launched an art exhibition titled ‘Seeds of CEAD’, featuring works by the 2019 batch of graduates of Jamshoro’s Centre of Excellence in Arts & Design (CEAD). The exhibit will run until December 28.

The group show’s inauguration was witnessed by Muhammad Riazuddin Qureshi, the secretary of the universities & boards department of the Government of Sindh, and architect Hamir Soomro, who himself is an artist as well as an art promoter.

A statement released by the gallery quoted CEAD Director Prof Dr Bhai Khan Shar as saying: “The struggle to disseminate artworks is never-ending. This year a new tradition is being observed of exhibiting selected works of the final-year students of painting at the ArtKaam Gallery in Karachi.

“The initiative was supported by Junaid Hamid, the gallery’s CEO, who took the decision while witnessing the annual degree show at CEAD and meeting the faculty and the students.

“The various subjects explored and developed thematically in the artworks by the students of the 16th batch of the Department of Fine Arts touched the very soul of the visitors. The sharpness and depth of thought is unbelievable.

“I would like to invite the civil society and art enthusiasts to visit the show and appreciate the hard work so that the candle sparked at CEAD remains kindled and the light is well spread.”

The exhibition is featuring artworks by the following 20 graduates: Aasma Usman, Afsah Ahmed, Alishba Khan Rajput, Ammara Mazari, Anshara Khan, Aqsa Bhutto, Ayesha Shaikh, Bilal Sethi, Bushra Shaikh, Faraz Gaad, Hijab Zehra, Joti Kumari, Kainat Khoso, Niaz Shah Baloch, Qurat-ul-Ain Memon, Tayiba Aziz, Tooba Jawed Shaikh, Tufail Ahmed Mirbahar, Ume Rubab Buriro and Wania Shaikh.

Artist profiles

Aasma Usman, born in Tando Allahyar in 1997, completed her BFA in painting from CEAD. She works in oil painting and mixed media, and investigates the dynamics of landscapes, including the manipulation of its effects and the limits of spectacles based on our assumptions of what landscape means to us. Her work establishes a link between the reality of nature and that of imagined by its conceiver. These works focus on concrete questions that determine our existence.

Afsah Ahmed, born in 1997 and a graduate of CEAD, completed her BFA in printmaking. She has participated in two international exhibitions. She has also participated in an exhibition of 30 young artists at the US Embassy. Besides etching, aquatint, mezzotint, bubble drop, drypoint and photo-etching, the unique technique of drop by using kerosene oil on acrylic sheet expresses her feelings and ideas more. Her thesis theme was moods & expressions by using monoprinting.

Alishba Khan Rajput, born in Hyderabad in 1998, majored in painting, graduated in BFA in 2019 and was awarded honours for her thesis. Her achievements made her pursue further education in the field of arts. Her thesis work is based on the concept of crumpled surface, which reflects the natural phenomenon of light and colours. She portrays unreal image of forms through colours in her paintings and aspires to work further in the field of art to open and explore different art horizons.

Ammara Mazari, born in Khairpur Mirs, graduated from CEAD in painting. She also trained at Hussain Chandio’s art studio in Hyderabad. Her thesis is on our surrounding values and the topic is ‘Social Issue’, elaborating on testing, taunting, discrimination and non-ethical acts.

Anshara Khan, born in Karachi in 1997, graduated with distinction from CEAD in 2019. She had been admitted in the centre in 2016. She has tried her hand at painting, sculpting, printmaking and miniature art. Her work is based on visual imagination so she did her final thesis on surrealism.

Aqsa Bhutto was born in 1997 in Kashmore’s Guddu town, in a distant rural border area of Sindh. She graduated with distinction. She had selected painting as her major. Her thesis work is on installations. She uses pins as thorns on different objects to express her sorrows and to explore issues about cultural expectations.

Ayesha Shaikh, born in 1996 in Hyderabad, graduated with honours. She has been fond of colour pencils, brushes and paints since her early years, and used to draw cartoon characters and landscapes. She chose painting as her major and wants to explore and experiment with her thoughts more profoundly through new techniques. She works with a variety of mediums and materials.

Bilal Sethi, born on 1995, graduated with honours from CEAD in 2019. He completed his bachelor’s in sculpture. He also participated in a youth competition at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in Islamabad. In his works he shows the damage caused by the ignorance of truth, and the way society manipulates the truth and hides it behind the curtains. His thesis is based on the Punjabi phrase “matti pao”.

Bushra Shaikh, born in 1996 in Larkana, graduated in printmaking from CEAD in 2019. She explores her feelings through the techniques of printmaking. Her thesis is based on her formative years’ recollections. Her prints showcase monochromatic shades with different approaches on zinc plate and wood. These abstract visuals reflect her memories.

Faraz Gaad, born in Larkana, graduated with honours in 2019 from CEAD in painting. His thesis is based on different perceptions. A single piece of art can be viewed and understood in many ways depending on the perceiver and what he perceives. Using double exposure to reveal hidden imagery on a single surface allows him to express the idea of various perspectives that may be exposed upon a single surface.

Hijab Zehra, born in Hyderabad, graduated in 2019 from CEAD, majoring in painting. Her artworks depict expressions in simple stylised faces having some influence of cubical expressionism. The purpose of using dark colours is to explain sadness, the most common emotion, and the bright colours explain the connection to positivity.

Joti Kumari, born in Thana Bhula Khan in 1997, graduated with distinction from CEAD. She had picked painting as her major. She started collecting dust and grime from Jamshoro and used such things as a medium for making her landscapes, dyeing the cracks and folds in the abstract.

Kainat Khoso, born in Hyderabad in 1997, graduated from CEAD in 2019. Due to her interest in literature she selected the theme of “existence to fatality” by using the aquatint and etching techniques of printmaking. She plays with vibrant colour inks to create multiple images. Her exploration of multiple techniques makes encourages her to do more in the future.

Niaz Shah Baloch from Gwadar has graduated from CEAD with remarkable achievements. He portrays the issues of the people living in Balochistan with various beautiful visuals in the form of sculptural reliefs. He picturises Gwadar and the lifestyles of the common people.

Qurat-ul-ain Memon, born in Dadu in 1998, graduated with honours from CEAD. She has participated in various exhibitions and competitions, including ‘We the Peoples, We the Arts’ at the PNCA. She loves to play with dark and light colours to create shadows. Her thesis is based on observing the absence of objects through shadows, like negatives and positives representing life in a different way.

Tayiba Aziz, born in 1997 in Hyderabad, graduated with honours from CEAD in 2019. She participated in various national and international exhibitions. Her work is a narrative of her journey with personal spaces. She loves to paint her journey with the object of doors. Through her imagery, she preserves rusted and rotten doors. To create the feel of memories she renders objects with intricate details in different media, including printing and painting techniques.

Tooba Jawed Shaikh, born in 1998 in Hyderabad, graduated from CEAD in 2019 with miniature painting as her major. Her thesis is based on local slangs of Pakistan. The artworks reflect the way certain groups of people or friends communicate with each other.

Tufail Ahmed Mirbahar, born in 1998 in District Sukkur’s Pano Akil tehsil, was inspired by his uncle Waliullah Mirani, who is a miniature painter. Following in his uncle’s footsteps, he completed his art education from CEAD with miniature as his major. Instead of carrying on with the traditional subject of Mughal miniature, he has selected contemporary themes to portray his thoughts on the impact of social media in our daily lives.

Ume Rubab Buriro, born in Hyderabad in 1997, graduated from CEAD in 2019. She selected painting as her major. Her thesis topic is contemporary drawing, in which she uses household objects to explore line rhythm and repetition. She got honours in her final thesis.

Wania Shaikh graduated from CEAD in 2019. She has participated in various national and international art competitions and exhibitions. Her work is based on alternate perceptions of beautiful glamorised advertisement posters through a variety of iconic paintings of the masters.