KARACHI: A solo show of artist M A Bukhari’s paintings titled Mysticism and Nature was inaugurated at a local hotel on Saturday evening. The event was also held to appreciate mural works on the walls of the Central Police Office.

Apart from Bukhari’s exhibits, paintings of eminent artists Tasadduq Sohail and Qamar Siddiqui were in the hall for art lovers to marvel at. It made for a nice viewing.

The name of the show was pretty interesting. Here’s why: mysticism is to do with the inner life of a person, whereas nature is about the world outside, albeit organic. The thing that connects the two, rather convincingly, is peace; because a soulful journey and affinity with untouched natural environment enables man to find inner strength.

If that’s the idea working behind Bukhari’s creative pursuit then the message was successfully conveyed to art lovers, who had turned up in a decent number. He’s done that not just through the content of his paintings, but with the lush brushstrokes, mellow colours and fudgy lines that indicate a world whose chaos can only be overcome once one begins to see through it and feel nature’s munificence.

As for the technical side of things, there were on display paintings (depicting land and sea) and calligraphy — one corresponding to nature, the other to mysticism.

In between proceedings of the event, videos were shown of the different tasks that the organiser of the programme, Crescent Art Gallery, has undertaken.

Speaking on the occasion, guest of honour Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Mahar emphasised the significance of soft image. He was of the view that if artworks are made on the premises of buildings such as that of the police’s, it will project a soft image of the department and Pakistan. People who will view it will also feel good.

Sindh Culture Minister Syed Sardar Shah, who was the chief guest on the occasion, talked about how the medium of expression in various genres of art helps propagate important messages.

A panel discussion, moderated by Dr Huma Mir, on art added to the show the perspective of the artist community on the subject. It was participated by Farrukh Shahab, Ali Abbas, Hameer Soomro and Abdul Jabbar Gul.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2021