KARACHI: The annual degree show of artworks by final-year graduating students of the graphic design and textile design department of the Karachi School of Art (KSA) began on the school premises on Tuesday morning.

It was such a pleasure talking to young students and listening to the impassioned way with which they defined their work to this writer.

Mahrukh Rashid, a graphic design artist, pays tribute to Pakistani artists by designing the concept for a contemporary art museum. She believes that Pakistani art is being acknowledged all over the world but our own children and young art enthusiasts are not familiar with it. There are references to the likes of Chughtai and Sadequain in her prints and at the same time Lubna Agha and Saeed Akhtar too feature in her exhibits.

Graphic designer Syeda Kiran Raza has a fertile imagination. The subject that she has chosen is ‘generosity’. By virtue of some delightful posters and a few very creative installations, she tries to push the idea that little gestures of generosity can make a big difference in our collective life. The young artist’s intelligently constructed installations — window blinds pulling that uncovers a smiley, a snooker table with red balls in a triangular formation and once they’re struck with the white ball, the green table cloth reveals a smile-eliciting phrase — are a sight to watch, something that fancy multinational companies might be interested in.

Kiran and Mahrukh’s batch-mate Mohammad Arsalan plays on the superhero theme juxtaposing himself with Superman, Hulk, Batman and Spiderman, hinting that superheroes’ power are essentially derived from the human spirit. He is right.

The work of Tajwar Mansoor of the textile design department is inspired by spider webs. Her exhibits are quite striking. A spider sculpture made out of wires and a large web made with the help of a variety of material including wool in one corner of the exhibition room impart an unusual vibe to the show. The young artist deems her artworks fit to be installed in malls.

Sundus Naveed Karimi pays compliments to the valiant men of the army and makes military-inspired exhibits that can be worn by girls.

Sana Mehmood, Sarwat, Ghulam Murtaza and Tajalli Zubair impress with their creative output as well.

The show, which will continue until Dec 25, is also part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the school’s establishment.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2014