September 13, 2003

The idea of similarity and difference is as old as the cave man, for whom men other than from his own group posed a danger greater than beasts. That ancient fear of the ‘other’ still continues in many a myriad form: ethical, racial, regional and religious divisions. And from its earliest form till now, history is a repetition of the episodes of how man has tried to coup the presence of the other who is not like him. The urge has manifest itself in the form of animosities, conflicts and wars between groups of people in every time, and on every continent.

The situation is evident in the way India and Pakistan have grudgingly co-existed side by side. Both live in a love-hate relationship since partition. The idea of peaceful co-existence has been a constant issue for a majority of people in both countries. It has been addressed on various forums and in multiple forms, by intellectuals, writers and artists, too. These were the concerns that formed the basis of an art exhibition held from August 18 to September 2 at Lahore’s Nehr Ghar gallery.

The show was curated by Iram Zia and Quddus Mirza and included works by several artists from India and Pakistan. Some of these were Hamra Abbas, Bani Abidi, David Alesworth, Saira Dar, Salima Hashmi, Ijaz ul Hassan, Aisha Khalid, Adnan Madani, Rahat Naveed, Rukh-e-Nilofer, Imran Qureshi, Rashid Rana, Rahat Saeed, Sania Samad and Risham Syed. A substantial part of the show was posters from the Aar Paar project, which comprised works by Shilpa Gupta, Kausik Mukhapadhy, N.S. Harsha, Jaistish Kallat, Sharmila Samant, Jaishiri Abhichandani, Riyas Komu, Huma Mulji, Naiza Khan, Asma Mundrawala, Roohi Ahmed and Munnawar Ali.

The show, of course not the first or the best of its kind ever held as was admitted by the curators against the high hopes of some of the art lovers, was an attempt to present different and creative dimensions of an idea, which by its repetition has turned into a boring concept and ineffective jargon. Participating artists either produced new works or submitted their old pieces on the theme approached the subject in a personal manner. Individual interpretations and choice of the medium (installations, mixed-media, videos, digital prints and posters) saved the idea from becoming a cliche.

Several participants preferred a symbolic language to create their work, emphasising the idea of peace through the elements from nature. The paintings by Salima Hashmi and Ijaz ul Hassan can be mentioned in this regard. Both employed the image of a budding plant to communicate a bright future that can be shared by India and Pakistan.

This element was observed in another work — of a different kind and sensibility — by Aisha Khalid as well. She made the outline of a rose in thread on a piece of fabric with a camouflage pattern. The interaction of flower with the design that signified death and destruction was a comment on the reality of peace: with a constant presence of the tools of war. This aspect of peace was also observed in a mixed-media work by Quddus Mirza. He placed a number of small canvases showing the shape of a gun amid floral patterns on various pieces of cloth. These pieces were hung in such a scheme that the guns were directed at one another in two opposite rows. Thus suggesting the state of dialogue between two states, which jumps from the delightful meadow of roses to the harsh language, full of threats.

A similar kind of scenario was the subject of Risham Syed’s painting. She glued the texture of roses around a view of building with visuals of a battle drawn in the foreground. The painterly quality in her work matched the tactile surfaces by Rahat Saeed, who interpreted the idea of peace with the help of maps. In addition to a map, some other entities, which are associated with the notion of nationalism, such as the flag and the anthem, were found in the works of some other participants.

Adnan Madani framed the poem “Trana-i-Hindi” (The Indian anthem) written by Iqbal, Pakistan’s national poet. With this small piece, he pointed out the irony of how a personality is split between two functions/nations. In one country he is perceived as the founding father of a country, but his poetry can also be used on the other side of the fence to evoke national sentiments.

Like Madani, Bani Abidi also expressed the idea of similarity and differences in a subtle manner in her videos titled “Anthem”, “Mangoes” and “News”. Highly sophisticated in terms of aesthetic value, the videos conveyed an extremely serious subject with a bit of humour and irony. This distinguished these from the usual videos presented at art shows, which bore the viewers with the heaviness of the used material and (often bland) complexity of the techniques/methods.

Another interesting part of the show was a three-dimensional construction by David Alesworth. He selected an artificial/virtual aquarium (the type which is sold for decoration purposes) and altered the fish, by printing the flags of India and Pakistan on their skin. Through this, the artist made a comment on how the two fish are destined to survive in the same water/environment which, in a way ,is not natural but artificial.

That artificiality was a concern in the work by Rashid Rana too. In his folk/popular mythical landscape the sign of an oil company was prominently placed. The link between the real and the imaginary acquired an interesting shape in his work. The painterly landscape was imaginary in its essence, but it signified a local reality, while the oil company’s logo (a photo realistic image) signified fabricated reality through the intervention of multinationals.

This digital print, initially prepared for the Aar Paar project, addressed the issue of two different yet identical states. Both countries share a common heritage (the ideal landscape) but they are faced with the cultural and economic invasion from western multinationals. The similarity and difference was portrayed through the two identical figures holding each other. The two figures, which resemble each other, could be understood as the two nations carved out of the same piece of land.

The other works by Indian and Pakistani artists, made for the Aar Paar project and on display at the gallery, depicted the similar kinds of ideas, conveyed in diverse manners. The decision to include the works by artists from the two countries, in the words of curator Iram Zia, “was a sign of how the creative people from both countries hold the similar sentiments and opinions and how art can serve as a platform for bringing them together.” This, according to the other curator, Quddus Mirza, “may lead to the discovery of the existing harmony among artists in both the countries — a real state of peace, indeed.”