The latest show at the Gandhara Art-Space, The Past as Present curated by Aziz Sohail, features works by four emerging artists and celebrates the 70th birthday of our nation by excavating archives in an attempt to address present concerns through the lens of the fringes of society. It is fitting to view a show that focuses on those that represent the white in our flag. However, when we say “minorities”, it is meant in a much broader sense. While it applies to communities and spoken language in some of the works, others see it in the context of gender and sexuality.

Some of the most visually striking works are by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr whose archival prints on cotton twill hang free against the wall with patches of colourful cloth stitched on to the surface, flowing beyond the edges. The work challenges the notions of masculinity and sexuality by presenting newspaper and print archives of muscled men draped in feminine designs and patterns. The visual disparity works on multiple fronts, “hiding” the body builder who puts himself on show through the very mechanisms of female suppression, while at the same time granting it a feminine beauty and softness that in a way removes the burden of masculinity. There is also a reconciliation of the images of Western icons seen against Eastern cultural motifs and Urdu text. What we get is a more fluid view of gender and borders which defines the 21st century.

A group show that celebrates 70 years of Pakistan with modern narratives presented in a historical context

Another exciting display with perhaps similar concerns set in a vastly different context comes from Veera Rustomji whose focus is on the diminishing Parsi community in Karachi. Her work looks at the need of a man to assert his masculinity, power, influence and control. This idea is conveyed through harsh metal structures in the shape of a pheta, a Gujarati hat typically worn by Parsi men of stature and prominence, mostly on important occasions, painted with images from the height of colonial rule to signify man’s need to conquer, occupy and rule. The artist views masculinity as somewhat of a burden, manifesting as the pressure of being the “breadwinner” or adhere to certain gender roles, aptly portrayed in the video installation ‘Men Doing Manly Things’. The work explores notions of pride, assertion of power, influence, and social standing all in the context of the colonial experience stretching across centuries and generations.

Ghulam Muhammad’s text-based works explore the politics of language, however, his use of archives has less to do with content and more with the formal quality of the script, turning the written word into more of a metaphorical image. Being a non-Urdu speaker himself, he provides an outside perspective on the destruction and restructuring of the national language with a combination of printed text overlaid with painstakingly carved text that renders both forms unreadable and meaningless. The work seems to refer to the adulteration and erasure of the Urdu language in recent times.

Moonis Ahmad’s works combine the idea of investigation, archiving and fiction by presenting haunting visuals of made-up birds with a battered and formidable appearance. This relates to the idea of the Pakistani spy pigeon sent across the border for political and military espionage in a rather humorous way as each bird has the look of a mug shot of an undead mercenary. The work is accompanied by an online mock investigative report/archive of these birds providing fictional findings in a whimsical fashion that announces its own farce at the outset with such lines laced with satire: “Name the bird a very complex absurd name to make it sound like it means something serious.”

As each artist builds a narrative around archives, they attempt to decipher the issues of the present through a historical context, and while we are more familiar with the mainstream experience, it is always interesting to view issues from a varied trajectory. As Sohail puts it, “Through these practices the viewer may reflect on how past histories and experiences, especially from margins, may allow us to understand the complex narratives of celebrating the present.”

“The Past as Present” was on display at the Gandhara Art-Space in Karachi from August 17 till September 16, 2017

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 17th, 2017