ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: Her women are delicate, serene, fluid, doe-eyed and heart breakingly beautiful. They are always surrounded by their dupatta but their sexuality brims out of every painting. Their features are perfect but their expressions defiant, almost like there is a conspiracy brewing behind their big beautiful eyes. These are the women of Hajra Mansoor.

A superb display of technical prowess and aesthetic pleasure by the experienced Hajra Mansoor, her latest exhibition at Nomad Gallery will be running from October 20 to October 31.

This exhibition is a collection of paintings on the woman. When asked, Ms Mansoor explained that her paintings were not just about any woman but the oriental Pakistani woman. Each painting, with its peaceful atmosphere, serene colours and veritable expressions is a representation of how Ms Mansoor feels as a woman.

The paintings show immense technical expertise as well as a powerful ability to execute her imagination the way Ms Mansoor desires - a skill only acquired by very advanced artists.

The combination of composition, Ms Mansoor's choice of colours, the interaction of the background and the foreground and her mastery of the fixed wash painting technique, all come together to give each one her paintings a unique atmosphere. In one, the dark messy reddish blue background highlights the lightly shaped woman character creating an intense and heavy atmosphere while in another the gentle use of shades of green and white create a peaceful affect.

And this, Ms Mansoor says is what she likes to paint. The same romanticism, softness and serenity that comes out in her paintings reflects her temperament. "I can only work in a peaceful atmosphere and with a peaceful mind," she said, adding jokingly: "And so my husband has to keep peace at home at all time."

But this does not mean that a pure aesthetic pleasure is the sole objective of her works. She does not shy away from commenting on social issues that surround women. One painting shows a woman's face with a lock encaging her mind - this is her slavery to mindless customs of pardah. A smaller figure in the same painting shows a woman wrapped up in clothes, unaware of what is meant to be covered and what is not.

With such romance and feminine gentleness oozing out of every painting, I could not but help ask Ms Mansoori, "Do you work from your heart or your mind?" And she was clear: "Oh practically it always has to be from the mind, the heart has nothing to do with this." This explains the stoicness of the paintings - unlike the ever unhappy heart the mind can be convinced to attain a peaceful state.