KARACHI: Psychoanalysis is often referred to as the archaeology of the soul. There’s nothing complicated about the definition; it suggests the past is the basis for our personalities and remains with us for the rest of our lives, in one way or another.

An exhibition of Farrukh Adnan’s artworks named The Past is Another Country that’s under way at the Chawkandi Art Gallery touches upon a similar subject with strong visual effects.

The title of the show also refers to a book and a musical album, both pretty different when it comes to categorising forms of expression.

To get clarity, Adan’s statement might suffice. “Archaeology allows a connection with the current situation in most of today’s world and serves as foundation for my work exploration — with the aspects which shift from memory to symbols. And memory serves to carve and create an independent narrative of time/place.

“I’m interested in works of archaeology that explore personal memory of space/place, collective historical events and cultural depictions of nature in the context of present times. Revealing aspects of history have a profound impact on our contemporary culture. This leads to discussions related to how we interpret a space within its context and how context itself builds sometimes out of the ‘syntax’…”

Adnan hails from a small town in Southern Punjab. It is his emotional and deep association with that area that enriches his artworks with power and poignancy. The evidence is in the use of the words ‘memory’, ‘historical’, ‘space’ and ‘contemporary’ that link various periods of time and therefore provide the artist with cogent reasons to create from a position of rootedness.

As a consequence, he interprets the connection with the days gone with striking visual charm and at the same time the auditory value that’s attached to it isn’t lost to him either. ‘The sounds from the landscape’ and ‘Decussate’ series are a strong testimony to the attachment.

The exhibition concludes on Jan 2.

Published in Dawn, january 1st, 2023