KARACHI: The inter-relatable aspects of various genres of art have now been well established. But very rarely, especially in Pakistan, does one see a painter doing an exhibition paying tribute to Urdu poetry and exploring his subject by looking through two distinct creative lenses. Artist Masood A. Khan has done this. His latest body of work in a show titled Khwab aate huay sunai diyey under way at the Art Chowk Gallery is testimony to the interconnectedness of the two forms of expression.

The name of the show is taken from the title of an upcoming book by renowned Urdu poet Saleem Kausar (who has been valiantly battling a life-threatening disease). Mind you, it is not an interpretation of Kausar’s work, rather the artist has used poetry as the springboard from where his creativity launches into the issues that compel him to paint and draw. That being said, if you are familiar with Kausar’s sha’iri, you will detect his or his poems’ presence in a few artworks. This perhaps happens on a subconscious level, both on the part of the artist and the viewer.

The first exhibit ‘Khudkalami’ (charcoal and ink on paper) is a fine example of it. The word Khudkalami can be roughly translated as soliloquy, an act of talking to yourself, but in a way that the audience also gets to know your feelings. This is why Khan has used charcoal in the making of the artwork. Khudkalami is a state where the audience (read: viewer) fills colours in the speaker’s (read: artist’s) sentiments.

To emphasise the interdependence of creative expressions, another genre that Khan throws into the mix is that of music. In that regard, pieces such as ‘Mausiqee’ and ‘Raga Yaman’ (ink on paper) are worth spending time with. Here the artist’s interplay of light with a symbiotic relationship in a productive atmosphere is pretty special.

The exhibition concludes on Dec 2.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2017