July 5, 2003

Reviewing an exhibition showing block-printed canvas ‘wall hangings’, at Karachi’s Majmua art gallery, is a challenging task. This is because it is not your regular artworks using different media. The show claims to be ‘different’, deriving its inspiration from ‘Pakistan’s traditional arts and crafts. The motifs used in the designs on the canvas wall hangings come from Moenjodaro, Taxila and other historical monuments such as the Badshahi mosque, the Mughal fort and gardens.

The work is a result of a team effort. The team was headed by Muhammad Sarfraz Gill, who designed and oversaw the execution of the panels. He was helped with the colours by another team member while craftsmen from interior Sindh executed the design in the form of block prints, with sequence, beadwork, embroidery, mirror work, calligraphy, and brushwork in oils used for embellishment.

The thought behind the experiment is laudable. In Islamic Art, of which Mughal Art is an offshoot, was rich in textiles and tapestries. Yet the textiles served a practical purpose — be it in the form of carpets, curtains, upholstery, items of attire as shawls, coats, etc. Each item was designed for use; yet with such care, time and patience as if it were a piece of jewellry.

The Quranic verse, “God is beauty and loves beauty,” was likely the force informing Muslim artisans’ aesthetics. This in turn meant that every object displaying an aesthetical design, from a wooden door to a piece of furniture, was to reflect the beauty of the Creator. From that standpoint, these wall hangings break the traditional mould of Islamic textiles, which were never really meant to be framed and hung as paintings.

But then the wall hangings in this show were not meant to be a textile product. But because they are done on canvas the tactile textural quality one is so used to seeing in Islamic textile is obviously missing here, and so are the vibrant colour patterns.

Architectural motifs inspired by traditional tile work have also been used but it seems they did not take very kindly to the block printing technique when applied to canvas. The result is that these motifs sit incongruously and do little to bring out a unifying theme. A great effort, however, through embroidery, etc., has been made to explore the medium. The team, instead of blindly following the western tradition of painting, has had the integrity to look to their own culture for inspiration.

The show also has some canvases in which Arabesque designs are used as borders with calligraphy in the centre representing the creative powers of God — much like in traditional Islamic art. This treatment also adds to the sense of life and movement that the art works reflect. Again, because these are painted on canvas (fabric), the wall hangings at times appear very similar to the block-printed tablecloths. That said, it is a valiant attempt and this form of art should be encouraged and explored further.

Above: Block print on canvas