KARACHI: An exhibition of artworks by two young artists — Mahbub Jokhio and Syed Safdar Ali — A thousand times to the moon and back home — opened at the Indus Valley School Gallery on Monday evening.

It is difficult to decipher as to what the title under which the show has been arranged implies. It’s fascinating nonetheless because of the variety of artworks on display. The use of different media to produce those works makes it hard to put the display in a single box of categories. In the 10 exhibits, there’s quite a lot to mull over and marvel at. It wouldn’t be wrong to suggest that one gets the feeling that the two men were over the moon when they were indulged in their respective creative processes, so let’s stick with this connotation of the title.

Yes, the very first exhibit by Jokhio Our world’s view from the moon (oil on canvas) does seem to speak about the solar system, but that’s the task the viewer needs to measure up to. The moon is not the moon, per se. There’s certain physicality to the black and grey images in the painting that can be associated with human beings, and in some cases, the human nature. Ignore this implication at your own peril.

Safdar pulls the same trick with an entirely different medium (bricks). The impossibility of return in somebody leaving on surface, looks like something that anyone can come up with. But staying with the brickwork for some time allows the idea of the ‘impossibility of return’ unfold in a rather mysterious way, making the viewer realise that there’s a sense of (painful) historicity connected with it.

Another interesting feature of the show is both artists’ fondness for the world of literature. Their joint effort in The unbearable lightness of being (charcoal on paper and wood) is both a tribute to the great Franco-Czech author Milan Kundera as well as homage to a famous monument whose symbolism varies from time to time.

Jokhio’s interpretation of the Ghalib line Dil hi to hai na sang-o-khisht puts an interesting spin on matters related to the heart. It has to be said, though, and it’s a matter of opinion, the way he has conceived the whole thing, another Ghalib line Jala hai jism jahan dil bhi jal gaya ho ga would have served his purpose more effectively. Still, it’s a very fine work of art.

The exhibition will run until Oct 16.

Published in Dawn September 23rd, 2015

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