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KARACHI: When we read or hear the word labyrinth, some of us are immediately reminded of a film starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly, and the latter’s strenuous effort to get out of a big maze in order to rescue her brother. The film could be interpreted in a number of ways, but to put it simply, it was about life and its pitfalls.
A group show titled Labyrinth opened at the Full Circle Gallery on Tuesday. Although the four artists whose works are on display do not associate themselves with Hollywood and its stars, they do seem to be intrigued by the mystery that life is.
First up, Anas Abro is interested in the age-old body-soul dichotomy. In his untitled paintings, the artist leans more towards examining the body through postures that are not difficult to associate emotion with. The aim, however, is to underline the fact that physicality is dependent on spirituality (soul, if you like) to stand counted.
Mazhar Qureshi does wonders with the idea of creating scenes with contours. The viewer can feel the kinetic energy that he’s able to generate in his artworks. They are done on canvas with acrylics, and yet move like characters on the silver screen — you only need to identify those characters. ‘Class Room’ is a case in point.
Manisha Jiani plays with the idea of multiple identities. Her untitled mixed media work tackles the topic of the unseen viewed through the already seen. The greyness in the exhibits signifies, in her words, ‘behind the shades’ goings-on.
Ammad Tahir combines images of human beings and cityscape to highlight the mutually reinforcing role they play in enhancing, in certain cases decreasing, each other’s worth. That said, looking at ‘Assassin’ (acrylic on canvas) gives the viewer the impression that Tahir is an intuitive artist for whom technique matters a lot. He paints with abandon, and as a result an explosion of colours and images emerge. Which is where content takes a back seat and craft appears in the foreground.
The exhibition concludes on Aug 19.
Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2017
