KARACHI: It is more than encouraging to see young artists in Pakistan painting their hearts out and making artworks with complete and delightful abandon. One nice little example of it is a four-day exhibition that began at the FOMMA DHA Art Centre (Zamzama) on Tuesday evening in which works of 11 recent graduates of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture are on display.

The show is titled Carte Blanche which is self-explanatory. The phrase means total freedom to act and think as one pleases. This is exactly what the participating creative individuals have done. Seeing each one’s artwork reinforces in the viewer the importance of freedom of thought and expression. Mind you, at their age, experience plays not a significant role; it is a combination of observation and skill that they rely on. What adds dynamism to this combination is a consuming passion for art. And that’s noticeable in the participants’ efforts.

Though it is exceedingly difficult to claim which artist’s exhibit stands out, it would be unjust not to sing praises for Sarah Mir, Maliha Saleem and Rabia Farooqui. Sarah Mir with her pen and watercolour pieces conjures images that are distorted but readily recognisable. The distortions that she creates through the cracked faces, so to speak, of her characters hint at multiple issues that we face on a regular basis — identity crisis, relationship dilemmas etc. Her free flowing technique complements the subject matter of her artworks, using lines that have a frenzied gait, diluting (not undermining) the complexity of the topic.

Rabia Farooqui plays with the symbol of the mirror. She brings a twist to the symbol by introducing the prying eyes that enhance both the scene that she’s trying to capture and the inherent implication of ‘guarding the guard’.

Maliha Saleem impresses with her approach to art. She comes across as someone who likes the conventional form of painting. However, there is something unconventional about her use of colour. For her, it seems, colours define us and our lives in the wider scheme of things.

The other participating artists are Ammara Jabbar, Anum Ashraf, Hira Khan, Maryam Arsalan, Maryam Zaidi, Rabia S. Akhtar, Rabia Ali and Shahana Afaq.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2016