Giving life to static objects

News Desk

Safdar Ali’s goal is to produce artwork that is relatable, using an array of different mediums that are both aesthetically appealing and evoke the issues he wishes to deal with, the Canvas Gallery, which is hosting his solo art exhibition titled ‘Apocalypse’ until January 30, quotes him as saying.

“Using an array of symbols to create meaning, my aim is for the work to be critical yet light-hearted,” he says.

“The union of pop aesthetics with social commentary is used to address some of the most pressing and difficult issues in today’s society in a way that is subtle and accessible, without being trite, shocking or obscure.

“This has always been of paramount importance to me. I have attempted to give life to familiar, static objects through a transformation that endows them with a symbolic function beyond their obvious respective purposes.”

Ali got his bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Lahore’s National College of Arts in 2014. He served his alma mater as visiting faculty between 2014 and 2017.

Besides his earlier solo exhibition titled ‘Utopia’ at the Canvas Gallery in 2016, he has been part of several group exhibitions between 2014 and 2018 in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

— Photo courtesy Canvas Gallery