For a comprehensive appreciation of the present period, it is necessary to take an occasional glance at the past events. At times, merely out of curiosity, humans have the urge to satisfy themselves by revisiting history. F.J. Turner, a famous writer, once said, “Each age writes the history of the past anew with reference to the conditions uppermost in its own time.” Therefore, there will always be some devious dynamics associated with written history in every period. However, pictorial documentation, which began from a cave on an Indonesian island, humbles the written word by almost 40,000 years.

Staying with the tradition of visual preservation, Risham Syed exhibited recently at the Gandhara Art Gallery, Karachi, with an extraordinary collection of 18 mixed media works. This show titled, Through the rear view mirror and the looking glass, is first of a series of works of the artists’ troika engaged with the gallery’s 10th anniversary series, Look at the city from here.

Utilising historical references, Syed aims to revive and relive past experiences from ordinary objects of daily use that dwell in our culture. Her work reflects a penchant for salvaging fading family traditions vital to a healthy society. She also believes that increasing interdependence and pluralism has necessitated awareness towards mutual respect, patience and civic courage.

Risham Syed’s work reflects a penchant for salvaging fading family traditions

The series of six digital Jacquard tapestries titled, We are sorry for this transient inconvenience, capture the despair of urbanisation, which never seems to vector in the human factor of forced displacement.

Another remarkable exhibit was an audio-visual piece, titled ‘Vail K’vaila’ (Timed, untimed), which takes the viewer on a vicarious trip into the glorious past. Furthermore, the assemblage titled ‘History as re-present-action 1’ is a fine retrospect of colonial grandeur, where the artist has composed a vintage Victorian chair on a wooden stool, alongside a painting on a stand. Syed’s painting ‘The face of face’ in mixed media, depicts the threat of ubiquitous terrorism, where a graceful lady is facing a militant male in a keffiyeh (Arab head scarf). Moreover, composed like a postal envelope, the painting hints at a universal message of mindfulness to this impending threat.

With a group of jubilant bodybuilders juxtaposed within scarlet leaves and a sensitively sketched van off-loading an election hoarding, the painting titled ‘The heavy weights’ in mixed media exudes a pleasant freshness. It describs the popular wannabes’ urge of competitive youngsters to look macho, the painting manifests profound empathy.

The evocative works of Syed decry the defiling of classical structures, which are briskly being replaced by grotesque urban structures. Her intrinsic connection with the fading past, through her creative interventions with the vivid present, tends to unleash significant soulful reminiscences which viewers feel as their own — the ultimate déjà vu!— M.S.K

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, May 29th, 2016