Western art in the 20th century is marked with individualism, personalisation and subjectivity with emotions and imagination as the main source of inspiration, to be expressed through intensity of colours, distortion of lines and melting and overlapping compositions. Cubism encompassed the perspective in geometrically balanced angles; Dadaism reciprocated with strong emotional reaction towards the World War I; Surrealism addressed the unintentional imagination that revealed in dreams and Expressionism gave way to the extreme impassioned charge and sentimental burst into abstract and non-representational painting.

In Pakistan, these movements and styles have prevailed regardless of time constraints and have been adopted as experimental techniques for one’s individualistic expressions rather than an adopted and practised art movement.

The exhibition, The past in the present by Sana Dar, at the Alhamra Art Galleries, Lahore presented an arrangement of frames carrying blazing colours, composed inside the heavily linear-textured peripheries around. Sana calls herself as inspired by Abstract Expressionism and tries to develop a visual dialogue between her inner self and the outer world. All of her paintings exhibit linear scribbling to stand for the intricate and confusing worldly desires and tasks whereas the pure colours inside represent the emotional discharge caused by the defiance and agitation against the convoluted and artificial trifles of the world.

Sana Dar tries to develop a visual dialogue between her inner self and the outer world

Apart from having a BFA Degree in design Dar also possesses a M.Litt in film and media. Therefore, her visual experience of perceiving impressions from her surroundings might be processed by an artist capturing movement within her frames, before actually putting them in lines and paints on the canvas. Moreover, the stencil work that the artist implies in her work brings to mind the small openings that our mind enables us to address dreamlike sensitivities.

In general, Dar’s art tries to transmit the spontaneity of mind with its unfathomable and meandering, perimeters confined in the labyrinths of senses and thoughts. She lets her unintentional imagination play with pure colour tones without using a brush or knife. However, the pen and ink patterns, around these intensely overlapping colours, suggest the intentional effort of the artist of going through, and handling with, the extensive emotional charge at the time of creating her art.

The artist elaborates this aspect as, “My work depicts emotions; emotions fueled by daily struggles, moments of brilliance and the pain of being unable to verbally articulate the impact of all that is overwhelming in life,”

The repetitive quality of these pen and ink patterns, at times, instigate the viewer’s eye to focus and concentrate at the burning tones of orange and red or the vastness of the blue; composed normally inside the harmonic mayhem around. The contrast, of the mediums, in these two techniques is further enhanced by the intricacy of texture in the linear work and dripping flushness of the Fauve colours. Collectively, every single frame of the artist carries the emotional agony of being overwhelmed as well as left in solitude, or sojourned at the bewilderment, without consideration of time and space.

In Pakistan, abstract style of art is not largely acceptable. However, few exceptional painters like Zubaida Agha and Shakir Ali brought modern art patterns to Pakistan in the very first decade of its existence. Dar connects to the same non-representational visual idiom which endures expression, sentimentalism, retribution and romance in its original form; without having a specified form practically.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, June 12th, 2016