ISLAMABAD: Mixed media works by 14 young winners of national prizes have been displayed at an exhibition titled The Winners, inaugurated on Friday at Gallery 6.

Giving details about the works, curator of the show, Dr Faisel Arjumand said Kiran Saleem was the winner of a first prize in 2015. Her paintings depict current socio-political scenarios in a fascinating way.

Saba Zahid’s paintings depict the position of women in today’s world.

The work of Zakir Baloch, winner of a merit prize, shows ordinary objects. Another prize winner Irfan Gul Dahri’s work seems to be inspired by folk literature through which he created characters, with some that possessed non-human attributes. His work acts as a window to another world with numerous possibilities.

Naqsh Raj’s work shows the use of mechanical and manual methods of painting.

Bushra Khalid, another merit prize winner, invokes a sense of empathy in the viewer’s mind, with visual representation of the impact of climate change.

Javaid Iqbal Mughal’s work touches upon the hierarchy that exists among men.

Syeda Unab Sumble’s work focuses on ordinary people who contribute make subtle contributions to the lives of others but remain unnoticed. “We often do not think or pay attention to them, yet, every single day, with muted tones of their own, they add beaming colours to the society’s canvas,” she said. Thorough attention to detail, blended with diligent colour schemes and hyper-realism, was enough to grab the viewer’s attention.

Samra Cheema painted directly from the tube or dry paints on the canvas and created sensational textures. Her work reflects human emotions including joy, love, sadness, motivation and attraction.

Similarly, Asghar Ali’s work shows emotions through details.

Karim’s work shows the outcome of war for both human beings and nature. He used charcoal to create his work.

Khadija S. Akhtar, through her work, attempted to re-imagine the joy of what once was. Her painting illustrated scenarios that combined the past and the present depicting both pleasure and melancholy.

Ahsan Javaid’s work explores subjective and objective truths. Sana Iqbal, through her work, tried to explore how boundaries were defined, their connection with the concept of other and the impact they have on identity as a nation and an individual. She does this by examining sites which were abandoned or once were. During partition, many public buildings and temples were left abandoned and families took refuge in them. A public space in Lahore was domesticated to accommodate a family. The inference of her current mandir series emerged from this occupation.

The show was inaugurated by Androulla Kaminara, ambassador of the European Union in Pakistan and an ardent supporter of emerging art.

The exhibition will continue till Jan 27.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2022