KARACHI: You think of insects in a literary or artistic reference, and the first thing, more often than not, that springs to mind is Kafka’s immortal character Gregor Samsa, the man who one fine morning turns into a giant insect and his perspective of the whole world, and the world’s perspective of him, takes a 180-degree turn.

Artist Hasnain Ali, an exhibition of whose artworks made out of computer parts from motherboard titled ‘Details’ is under way at the Art Chowk Gallery, says the reason for putting his work on display is his ‘childhood memories of insects’. His perception of insects, he concedes, over the years has changed. Still, his interest in them, in their specific environment, hasn’t wavered.

The key to making sense of Hasnain Ali’s exhibits lies in the phrase ‘specific environment’. That is exactly what Kafka did with his character. He put him in a particular situation caused by the morphing of his physical state and the world around that character changed for the worse.

Hungry Fly

Hasnain gradually makes his move. He first introduces the viewer to the piece called ‘Detective’ which has a comic book feel to it. But with the artwork called ‘Lonely’ things take a serious turn and the insect becomes identifiable. Then comes ‘Hungry Fly’ and you are reminded of another famous Kafka story ‘The Hunger Artist’. Now connect the dots. Even if Hasnain Ali was not aiming for that goal, he is moving towards it. The allusion may not be coincidental, but the result in the form of effect is not revelatory.

This writer’s favourite piece in the show is ‘Whispering’. The ear into which the insect is whispering something takes a route which hints at a reference right from the world of classic art itself, the world of that unmatched artist who cut off his own ear to discover himself.

The exhibition will run until Dec 20.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2014