More than 70 years after indepen­dence, as our nation continues to grapple with the symptoms of post-colonialism, the devastating effects of European imperialism have become more prominent. The historical trajectory, and subsequently an entire cultural identity, is hijacked and mutated, so much so that we are still scrambling to find ourselves within a Western global discourse. Sobia Ahmed’s work looks at similar concerns, using allegorical imagery and miniature sensibilities to talk about the decline of ideology in Pakistan due to Western influences in its sociopolitical structures. In her latest show at Karachi’s Chawkandi Art Gallery, titled Shikwa, Jawab-i-Shikwa, she uses dualistic imagery and diptychs to allude to our contradicting ideals and confused sense of identity. The title of the show, taken from Allama Iqbal’s iconic poem, signifies man’s constant quest to search for answers. The artist feels that at times the answers are provided by those who ask them.

The displayed works offers commentary on various aspects of our current political realities. Birds, heavy foliage, national symbols, figures from historical Mughal miniatures, surfaces such as gold leaf and techniques such as embroidery are all used to launch critique on Western imperialism and the ways in which it steers sociopolitical and economic situations in Pakistan.

This interplay of the East and West is seen in a variety of different works. The chand and sitara (the moon and star) from the Pakistani flag recur in almost every piece, embroidered in red and blue thread in some of the works are used as a symbol of Western imposition, perhaps erasing our own sense of nationhood. In the diptych ‘In Waiting’ a Mughal imperial figure dressed in Pakistani national symbols is flanked by silhouetted images of the eagle, the American national emblem, while in ‘Who is Who?’ another Mughal figure appears in conflicting symbols and attire, corrupted and overpowered by enemy influence. These dichotomies make us question the balance of power and our own questionable loyalties in the current global political scenario.

Sobia Ahmed uses striking colours and poignant symbolism to comment on Western influences on Pakistan’s sociopolitical scenario

In ‘New Order’, we see a bloody battlefield with severed heads while a redesigned rupee note with cupids wielding arrows hovers above. The artist seems to be commenting on the economies of war, the resultant victims and profiteers, and the true face of those that masquerade as our allies.

Ahmed makes intelligent use of colour in her compositions, creating striking contrasts with vibrant hues, which not only hint at various national identities from the East and the West but also create conflicting moods. For instance, in ‘Sacred Crest’, the traced Mughal figures rest in a field of gold — a colour of supremacy, power and grandeur — as they covertly exploit the common man through false dreams of abundant foliage which instead appears as a dangerous red rather than a lush green and suffocates the tiny image of a beheading.

Through the use of embroidery, the artist introduces the idea of construction and deconstruction, and it is intriguing how both concepts appear simultaneously in one image. As elaborate plans are meticulously constructed one stitch at the time, the images are also incomplete and unravel in places so that the crescent and the star seem to be deconstructed or merely outlined.

These various ideas and analogies are layered into the works so that each work represents a plethora of narratives that are open to interpretation. As the artist extracts these themes from current events and attempts to articulate the jumble of stimuli and her reactions to them, her language reveals the timelessness of these morbid realities that are part of both our history and our present.

“Shikwa, Jawab-i-Shikwa” was on display at Chawkandi Art Gallery in Karachi from September 4 till September 12, 2018

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 23rd, 2018