In the recently concluded 2nd Islamabad Literary Festival, many artists were also invited to different discussions on art or to attend sessions on literature, film, music and theatre. Most of them moved as a group, with their name tags hanging around their necks so that they could avail some facilities. But this time, these artists wore tags not necessarily bearing their own names. There was a mixing of genders too. So Fatima wearing the nametag of Arif was allowed inside the dining hall by the guard who gave her a big smile.

This was a matter of a few individuals who were unable find their name tags. It does reveal the relevance of names and how the name of a person, which is considered such a private and integral part of a person’s identity, is shared by many others.

Yet names are the embodiment of identity. Certain societies are facing the problem of formulating their distinct identities; especially those states which have gone through the history of splitting into many independent countries, or separate states joining to create a new country. Also in the times of colonialism, imperialism and globalisation, the issue of identity has acquired a different position. With multiple characteristics and influences, it has become difficult for a nation to insist upon its uniqueness.

Often, the political context is different from the cultural, racial and linguistic one. Thus the gulf states of UAE are independent sheikhdoms but, apart from separate rulers, there is nothing else that makes one state different from the rest. Likewise, South Korea and North Korea are identical but their opposing political systems differentiate them.

Since its creation, there have been debates about Pakistan’s identity, with diverse and contradictory views. Ranging from racial or regional to religious, the country is moving from one extreme to the other.

Identity is not only a hypothetical or philosophical discourse; it becomes particular when one is asked to present one’s identity document at a new destination or stopped by security personnel in one’s own city. The exhibition, I. D, held during the 2nd Islamabad Literary Festival addressed these concerns within a wider framework. Displayed at the venue of the festival, the group show was curated by Lavinia Filippi, an Italian art historian and contemporary art critic currently based in Islamabad and included works of 10 contemporary artists from Pakistan.

One could identify how the concept of identity was extended from one work to the next in the show. The artists deal with the changing scenario of a country that is exposed to diverse currents both from within and outside. From personal and banal to political and grand, the variety of developing and defused identities was visible in the works on display.

Sajjad Ahmed in his digital print has presented two aeroplane windows with views altered in such a way that the simple act of gazing out of the window from high altitude liberates a person from regional recognitions. Yet, at the same time, these views become the new specimens of high art. Sana Arjumand has approached a similar theme in her mixed media painting. But in Farida Batool’s lenticular print, personal and global identities have been combined to offer a vision that, like contemporary identities, is never static. Moving from one spot to other, the viewer comes across sepia photographs of a child soon turning into a picture of a kid wearing suicide jacket.

Political identities was the subject of Imrana Tanveer’s mixed media pieces, in which patriotic symbols such as crescent, stars and portraits of leaders were altered to comment upon the structure of politics and political discourse. In Tanveer’s work, star from Pakistani flag was extended and modified into a fighter plane. Likewise, Imran Hunzai in his mixed media sculpture and installation offered the scenario of a culture changing with technology that brings war and waste in its aftermath.

The impact of technological progress and globalisation in altering a society and enhancing the sense of alienation was evident in the digital prints and video installations of Aroosa Rana Naz too.

This aspect of loneliness, discrepancies and destruction was investigated in the digital jacquards of Risham Syed. These contained the clips of a city that is exposed to public works, construction and debris -- all alluding to an illusion of progress but perpetuating the power, prestige and profit of multinationals, which use developing nations to market ideas, objects, products and lifestyles. Commenting upon the practice of abandoned identities, when it comes to manufacturing goods and sending to distant markets, Syed got her works fabricated in China. Since most products are composed of multiple geographical links and regional identities, these defy the notion of identity.

Similarly, human beings are also made up of multiple sources as illustrated in the work of Nadia Khawaja, with different nationalities represented in varying ratios. Derived from her history of living in a number of countries, she has constructed the work that can be interpreted as a scientific analysis of any human being’s genes.

Saba Khan in her mixed media paintings suggests how the matter of taste and economic status are connected (like the term cheap, which is employed both for inexpensive and low taste). In these captivating compositions, Khan has created a visual substitute of films, which present the alluring side of difficult situations.

Perhaps the most representative work in the I.D. was Imran Channa’s LCD video installation Lik Likoti 2, which comprised of 4 channels showing four movies from Star War series. I used the word ‘showing’ but in reality these were providing a tiny glimpse since the major part of the screens were black. In that sense, the identity of an image is the object of hide and seek, like most of our identities, which are partly visible and partially concealed.

Undoubtedly it was Lavinia Filippi who, with the support of My Art World, was able to explore the matter of identity and present something extra and interesting. All the works on display, along with offering various views on national/regional identity, invoked the new identity of contemporary art in Pakistan, which is exciting, engaging and daring.