KARACHI: Sometimes personal tragedies can act as catalysts and in the case of artists and literary figures they can give a new dimension to their pursuits.

Attiya Shaukat, a 2004 graduate from the National College of Arts, Lahore, had a nasty fall from a ladder, a year before she completed her studies. When it was pronounced by the doctor that she wouldn’t be able to walk on her own, she didn’t think that the world would come to an end. Instead she decided to fight back.

Much of the movement of her body below the abdomen returned as a result of rigorous and painful exercises prescribed by her physiotherapist.

It’s only the part below the knees that has ceased to function. The injury on her four vertebras has proved to be irreversible.

Her large-size miniatures that are on display at Canvas Gallery show objects which continue to haunt her – the four broken vertebras, the injured tissues, a ruptured spinal cord, a pair of forceps, a wheel chair, fixators, the foot of the ladder, a pair of socks in two different colours, and the rounded part of the ceiling fan, which she saw as she lay on her bed for what seemed like an eternity.

When she was able to paint, she did so with demonic energy, which gave her a lot of practice. Since her last group show in Karachi, Attiya Shaukat’s skills and technique have both improved incredibly. The texture of her work, the minute details – a characteristic of miniaturists – the shades that she lends to her figures and above all the finesse are all amazing.

The Lahore-based miniaturist says that if she had not received unceasing support from her family and her friends, not to speak of her mentor Imran Qureshi, who taught her miniature painting at the NCA, she wouldn’t have proved equal to the challenge posed by the disability.

Titled “A Step Forward”, the exhibition will continue till April 17. The 13 invaluable pieces on display certainly merit viewing.