KARACHI: No individual can escape patterns and routines set in his life. Even a person who doesn’t do much physically can count inertia as his pattern. Since art reflects life, because that’s its basic definition, the subject of moving away from a set routine has often attracted the attention of creative souls. An exhibition of Faizan Riedinger’s artworks which is under way at the Art Chowk Gallery is titled What do they say. As can be noticed, it raises a question even before the viewer starts looking at his exhibits. And it’s a pertinent query.

The first striking thing about the show is that the artist has dealt with the topic in a gray atmosphere. This is a giveaway: he thinks, it seems, that life is neither completely black nor totally white — it happens somewhere in between. Now let’s get back to where he starts the display from. He says, “From an early age we are conditioned to compartmentalise and categorise our experiences, now more than ever before. The most common question I get asked about by work is exactly this — what does it say? Rather than telling a coherent story, my works are all open to interpretation and inquiry — yet, the calligraphic characters all have their place — they are there not without reason. Abstraction plays a key role in expanding our subconscious and creativity. It breaks us away from our social/cultural conditioning. The use of monotone black white and grey further expands and explores the possibilities of creation through limitations. The process induces a meditative state through the act of repetition.”

There can be a number of ways through which his statement can be construed; one of them is to put emphasis on the part that ‘abstraction’ plays in broadening the scope of creativity. Faizan is looking for answers in a world that is not uncomplicated. So the way to elicit the right response is to take the not-so-straight route. As a result, he produces works of art, aesthetically pleasing, such as the series ‘Unravel’ and ‘Resettling’ (archival ink, acid free foam & acid free paper). Both hint at the ‘ongoing’ aspect of existence. The suggestion is that there’s no finality in life (or art). Yes, by searching through convoluted paths, call them abstraction if you like, the journey, not the destination, becomes all the more illuminating.

The exhibition, curated by Humayun Memon and Huma Tassawar, will conclude on Feb 27.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2021