Ejaz Art Gallery organised a painting exhibition, titled Zoetic, on Oct 27. At first – casual -- glance, the colourful, commercial and comic style of the paintings seemed to be inspired by the work of modernist American-pop art painter Roy Lichtenstein. A leading figure of the new art movement practiced in 1960’s, Lichtenstein’s work used to define the premise of pop art through parody. Inspired by the comic strip, he produced precise compositions that documented while they parodied, often in a tongue-in-cheek manner.

The show under review is important, not only for its commercial market, but also for the fact that a classical miniature technique of painting was used to portray 21st century pop art to share sensitive, humanistic and honest stories of life in the form of parody. With a tinge of abstract expressionism and surrealism, the cartoon-inspired figures swiftly tackle topics such as race, gender, lust for power and socio-political issues with mischievousness. This is a reflection on today’s society and the way it is always evolving.

Artist Ali Farhan opines: “It’s common human psyche that when you experience something relentlessly, it becomes normal to you. Nowadays our cultural phenomenon has become slavery. My art practice is a study on an individual life and how it is affected by their environment and surroundings.”

Farhan’s paintings portray the irony that we have forgotten our cultural values and adopted western culture. His depiction of a cartoon character in a painting titled ‘Bunny’ reveals a humorous clip from a cartoon film with satire on our values and norms. The two prominent lines with traditional motifs also reflect the idea that our traditional concepts, customs and beliefs are dwindling by the day due to intense impact of western culture and media.

The interesting aspect of Hussain Jamil’s work is that he “questions the old expressionless miniature figures and the image of Mughal courts and their powerful emperors”. His paintings are a stubborn satire on the politics and rule of law and power prevailing world over.

Maria Ramzan has also used sarcasm to depict lust for power and throne with the help of cartoon characters. Her work titled ‘Badsha2’ represents famous cartoon character Scooby Doo, painted on vasli with an embellished border. Representing the traditional royal Mughal setting, the cartoon is wearing a royal necklace with a gold halo at the back. Traditional Mughal motifs also adorn the painting.

The mischievous expression of the character is typical of cartoon movies but the message it coveys is a political satire on the leadership and their comic-like demeanour. With sardonic and satirical tone the piece, ‘The Group Show’, depicts numerous famous cartoon characters, representing modern men and women in power whose existence is dominated by money and mechanical measurements.

Mahnoor Hussain’s beautifully rendered portraits of ordinary people with exaggerated expressions represent the painting’s message on multiple metaphoric levels. The characters are invented in imagination or ubiquitous in daily life, media, or advertising.

Zeeshan Hameed with an abstract-realist expression tries to raise voice against serious social issues prevailing in society. With gauche on vasli technique, he seems to define the thin line that exists between our fears, desires, taboos and the natural existence of human beings .With a serious tone, the artist has raised his voice against the taboos and social issues that we loathe to discuss.

Overall, the works of five young artists display an array of contemporary art with just as much sarcasm, raw passion and emotions.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2017