Some of the pieces at the exhibition. PHOTOS: EXPRESS
The exhibition by seven young printmakers is skilful with strong imagery.
Artist Ramsha Ikhlaq’s work is a reflection of the daily obstacles faced by a female student in our society.
She said girls in the Pakistani patriarchal society are held responsible for household chores along with their study or work, which just adds more responsibilities.
For a female student, the completion of given assignments in time and to fulfil household chores in the best possible manner often brings tiredness and stress.
“The main purpose of my work thus is to portray this struggle and also to motivate female students that the task to achieve the goals is difficult but not impossible,” Ikhlaq said.
Wrinkles are manifolds of the stories of life, says artist Anum Ahmed. She feels ageing is an unavoidable happening wonder. Her visual art pieces reflect the understanding of the apparent lines and those hidden.
Artist Aqsa Javaid’s work shows some important historical forts of Punjab. She said Punjab is very rich in terms of its history. There are different tribes and all people of the region have left a mark of their culture, religion and politics. They made buildings and residential areas according to their needs.
“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older” is the topic chosen by artist Fatimah Sajid, based on remembering some of her childhood memories.
“Today we are caught in a busy lifestyle and limit our acts due to responsibilities. We worry and burden ourselves about the society as to what they will think about us if we act in a childish way,” she says.
She has used visuals in juxtaposition with other mediums of art. Printmaking has been employed as the methodology of the project and various techniques such as collagraph have been used to get the final prints.
Artist Saima Jamil’s work aims at depicting a metamorphosis in a stereotypical housewife’s life and how it could change the way we look at life in a positive way.
It is based on the personal experiences but is generalisable to the whole community of housewives in our society. It shows how a woman understands world changes and how it feels while going through this liberating experience. It would also show how it can change various attitudes and enable us to overcome many negative aspects of our behaviour.
Artist Mehwish Ikram’s work — “Narratives of My Life” — depicts her memories related to her life and struggle. “I visually depicted my positive attitude towards my work and I believe I did my job to reach my destination,” she said.
An artist’s job is to put the viewers in the middle of the stroke allowing them to live through an experience. “I believe that creating your own personal narrative is a great way to develop your art skills and your work better,” she said.
Artist Momal Masood’s work is inspired by the Fatima Jinnah Women University main building, which is Victorian mirrored in its architectural elegance, built as a property by Sikh brothers Mohan Singh and Sohan Singh. It also served as the Presidency of Pakistan from the mid-1960s up to the late-1970s.
“The narratives are reflections of obstacles and challenges faced by girls and women in a patriarchal society,” Nomad Gallery Founder Director Nageen Hyat said.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2016.
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