The congregation, Sana Saleem

Prominent and advantageous displays of thesis art that delight the eye and provoke the imagination often give participating graduates a head start in their about to commence art careers. Having talent is not enough for young artists to get ahead today, and organised platforms are now beginning to play their role in tapping their aesthetic potential and projecting it to advantage.

The annual Emerging Talent show at VM Gallery, Karachi, provides fresh graduates a unique opportunity to rise and shine. Works in the current edition, ‘ET 2011’, boasts some great attitudes, a trifle over the top sometimes, but invigorating nonetheless. It is art by young aspirants who have found, shaped and coloured personal insights with their own visual language that appears particularly refreshing.

Among the stand out pieces, extra-large oils on canvas speak of experiments in picture composition, paint application and choice of subject. From the NCA group the ‘Nostalgia’ series of seminude paintings by Shanzay centering on mature faces and fragile, pre-puberty, androgynous bodies of the girl child are loud and bold comments on the protagonists exploitative and under privileged status. Zoha Khan’s close up angles of urban dwellers engaged in daily activities like brushing teeth or sitting in a garden attempt to expose the macabre and sinister side of the human psyche in a benign manner.

Similarly, from the Punjab University clutch of artists, Madiha Jamil’s gory painting of a hand holding a freshly dismembered heart raises many questions about the physicality of the organ and its philosophical connotations.

From the BNU, Lahore, Syed Zain ul Abideen’s two identical paintings of a male figure, which hangs on two walls meeting at a corner, are joined by an actual piece of diagonal rope which both the figures in the canvas are pulling towards themselves. This mix of the two and three dimensional art is an innovative take to depict a person being pulled in opposing directions. Revisiting a childhood birthday celebration, Mehak from the BNU simulates the vintage black (sepia) and white photograph in oils on canvas—a past forward re-look and reinvention.

If large canvases accosts the eye, it is the miniature pieces that leave a lingering impression. High on ideas and technical innovations, whilst still adhering to the miniature ethos, students of the NCA, Rawalpindi, infuse a new life into the discipline. Unconventional combinations of needlework, stitch craft, hand weave, painting and drawing in Marium Kundi’s finely worked pieces evince potential of exciting art/craft mergers. Hira Zubair’s compositions, playing with the crystal ball image are well-conceived and executed.

Video as an art discipline moves forward in this show. Claiming that the ruling forces have brainwashed the public, a video film by Zeeshan Mohammed Younas from the NCA Rawalpindi, shows the repetitive and manipulated nature of the current social chaos equating it to the mindless, mechanical PT exercises he performed in school.

Giving visual definition to the “inability to translate experience”, lends engagement value to Zaineb Sidiqqui’s video. Titled ‘Fields’, the film explores techniques involving “deconstructing, cropping and layering imagery” which enabled her to capture intangibles like, “time, space, perception and memory.”

Other than strong entries from new campus of the NCA in Rawalpindi there are promising works from another new entrant, the Centre of Excellence from Hyderabad, Sindh. A striking artwork ‘Economic crisis’, depicting coins in a state of meltdown, by Azhar Chandio from CoE is directed towards currency devaluation. Paintings by Ambreen Channa and Kashif Ali are also noticeable.

Ceramics seem to lead the way among the mixed bag of works from the IVSSA. A rust-coloured terra cotta installation like a creeper vine with spiked leaves by Zuna Altaf caught the eye as did Sara Mehmood’s casts of dismembered limbs/body parts. A painting/miniature of a contorted human face squashed in a pressure cooker, by Tuba Zaki, is self-explanatory.

The most striking artwork from the Karachi University students is by Summaiya Jillani. Fascinated by the vigour of ethnic pattern, she has painted figures on ralli and boldly flowered cheent (chintz) cloth. The reference to artist Frida Kahlo, who herself made dramatic use of folk art in her work, as a protagonist, perks up the visual experience.

Among random works that grabs attention, a floor installation of a stack of charred newspapers cutout like a map of Pakistan by Shaista Javed of CIAC critiques the media for being irresponsible and negative.

Massive in scale and numbers, Emerging talent as a show is an ideal opportunity for visitors to discover the next generation of budding artists. It is also an important platform for emerging artists, as they get to present work in a professional environment and meet people who work within the field—from art critics to curators and from gallery owners to agents and dealers.