ISLAMABAD: The Sadequain Foundation and Gallery 6 will launch two new books and open a unique exhibition on Friday, to commemorate Sadequain’s 28th death anniversary.

Salman Ahmad, founder of the United States based Sadequain Foundation, has flown in from California for the event. In the exhibition, titled ‘Sadequain aur Mein’ (Sadequain and I), 16 artists have come together to pay tribute to the legendary artist.

The books being launched are titled ‘Lines and Drawings by Sadequain’ and ‘Treasures of Time’. Both have been authored by Salman Ahmed. Lines and Drawings by Sadequain is a collection of over 300 drawings by the artist, collected from across the world.

Speaking at the preview on Thursday, curator of Gallery 6, Dr Arjumand Faisal explained that in technical terms, the drawings in the book demonstrate the coming together of various disciplines such as drawing, calligraphy as well Urdu and Persian poetry.

“The drawings in this book show how Sadequain’s lines, whether complex or simple, come together magically like a well-orchestrated symphony,” said Dr Arjumand Faisal.

By R.M. Naeem

The second book “Treasures of Time” showcases an extraordinary body of murals, paintings, and metal-over-wood collages housed at Sadequain Gallery at the State Bank of Pakistan Museum in Karachi. In the mural at the State Bank, Sadequain paid tribute to forty four eminent personalities from history from the glorious days of the Greek civilization followed by the European renaissance, the golden age of Arabs and at the other end are 20th century luminaries.

Dr Arjumand Faisal, who himself spent time with Sadequain talked about the exhibition ‘Sadequain Aur Mein’. He explained that each artist had paid tribute to the legendary artist using their own medium. Aasim Akhtar used an audio recording of Sadequain, mixed it with his own voice to create an interesting sound clip of him interviewing the legend himself.

Abdul Jabbar Gul presented a sculpture. Wahab Jaffer contributed a painting by Laila Shehzada to the show, from his personal collection in which Shehzada has painted Sadequain in her own style.

Among other artists, Abid Hasan, Aqeel Solangi and Ali Azmat have used imagery from Sadequain’s paintings, recreating it in their own styles to produce appealing original works. Mughees Riaz supplements his work with verses from Faiz Ahmed Faiz like Sadequain in his famous crows series.

RM Naeem’s painting titled “Tracing the History” dominates the exhibit. This work of acrylic on canvas demonstrates the artist’s approach and his command over paint and brush work.

A closer view reveals Sadequain’s imagery concealed in the work as engravings on the walls of caves. Sadaf Naeem who mentioned that Sadequain’s cactus series is her favourite, has taken a cactus as a reference point for her painting included in the exhibition.

Mehr Afroze’s painting also shows the cactus with other symbols and geometric patterns creating a balance, which is now becoming the trademark of her work.

Imran Hunzai has created a drawing representing his own poetry, as was often done by Sadequain.

Munawar Ali Syed submitted a drawing inspired by Sedequain’s lines which always fascinated him and became his inspiration.

Masood A Khan had used grout as the medium for his striking work depicting Sadequain working on a painting.

The exhibition also includes five drawings on paper and three paintings by Sadequain, produced in the 1970s. The exhibition will continue until March 1.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2015

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