KARACHI: It’s Halloween time! Not yet. But it’s definitely that time of year when in some parts of the world, Mexico in particular, families gather to remember the dear ones who have left this mortal world. It’s a holiday called the Day of the Dead, which begins on Oct 31 and lasts till Nov 2. It has its roots in festivals that used to take place when colonialism had not been introduced.

For the past few years, a print exchange exhibition inspired by the day of the dead is being organised internationally.

After exchanging prints made by different artists, the final three become part of the La Calaca Press archive and tour the world. The International Print Exchange III exhibition, which opened at the Indus Valley School Gallery on Monday evening, is one such event.

Apart from Damon Kowarsky’s delightful 15 prints that are kept separate from the main show, there are more than 240 exhibits on display, done in a variety of media ranging from etching and aquatint to relief print and linocut. Since the subject is death, and in some cases the post-death imaginary scenarios, the human skull becomes a symbol of mortality in more ways than one. For starters, take the artwork called ‘R R R… Here I Come’ (collagraph) made by American artist Rosa Marie C. Dies. The red car underneath the skull and the flowers on top give it a comic touch. It is not a comic image, but a sad one. It is, in a manner of speaking, a different take on the expression ‘if wishes were horses…’

Pelos by Maria Polan Morato (L) Self-Portrait with Skull Mask by Meghan Rose Griffiths (R) Photos: White Star

Spanish artists explore the netherworld in their distinct style. Miguel Sanz Salazar, Jesus Mateos Brea and Maria Polan Morato’s exhibits are a very apt illustration of the eerie soulless silence that you can imagine in the other world.

An interesting departure from the general trend is Australian artist Meghan Rose Griffith’s ‘Self-Portrait with Skull Mask’ (linocut). The artist has very intelligently turned the tables on herself. The mask is often referred to as something that shields a person’s inner self. Instead the artist has turned it all into an inside-out study where the mask reveals more than what it conceals.

David W Thomas’ piece ‘Melting away’ (linocut) and Karla Ann Villareal’s ‘The last vestiges’ (stone lithography) are also striking works of art.

The exhibition will continue till Nov 2.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2014