ISLAMABAD, July 22: For the first time, art-lovers in the beautiful South Korean capital city of Seoul would be treated to a bonanza of Pakistani line and colour when an exhibition of 53 works by 29 Pakistani painters opens at the Seoul Museum of Art next month.

The exhibition has been made largely possible through the efforts of poetess Esther Park from South Korea, who is doing her research on Ghandara Art in Pakistan and is living here for some years. Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs have actively supported and “compiled” the exhibition. The Korea Figurative Art Association and MOK-WOO-HOE Corporation have taken part in “exhibition execution”.

Most of the paintings were selected by Ms Park, and the exhibition has been curated by artist and art teacher Saeed Akhtar who is also accompanying the exhibits to Soul to attend the inaugural ceremony.

Briefing journalists at a preview of the show, the PNCA director-general Raja Changez Sultan, paid tributes to the lady for introducing our art works in her country. Ms Park saw these treasures at the national art exhibition organized by the PNCA at Lahore, he explained. She was so impressed by it that she wanted to take it to Koreans to view a glimpse of Pakistan, he said.

“I love Pakistan, since I have been in your country, and want to take the real image of your beautiful country to Korea where some people unfortunately associate it with poverty and illegal immigrants; so much so that some time back a Pakistan high official was detained at Seoul airport for many hours unnecessarily,” she said.

She has already arranged a number of visits by the Koreans, including a number of artists, and some Korean monks. The visits were curtailed in the aftermath of 9/11. She regretted that the Korean tourists are discouraged by the fact that, according to her, even they are required to have an invitation from Pakistan to get a tourist visa affixed to their passports. She said that she would like the Koreans to know more about the founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and make them aware about the dispute of Jammu and Kashmir. But she regretted that her efforts were not appreciated in the concerned quarters, and she at times got the impression as if she was asking for something for herself.

She also regretted that some of the archeological sites did not have proper signboards that would help the tourist know the importance of the place.

Senior and new artists, and artists of almost all “schools of thought”, of all hues, are represented in the exhibition. One even felt that at least two pictures (by Mussarrat Naheed Imam) convey the impressions of Ghandara figures.

There are also two pictures from the Divided Self series of artist Changez Sultan. Also included are paintings from Mansur Rahi, Ghulam Rasul, Ijazul Hasan and Mashkoor Raza, and a number of other “old” and “young” artists.—Mufti Jamiluddin Ahmad