I Paying tribute to some of the oldest living beings on our planet, ‘Walk Among Trees’ at the Koel Gallery, Karachi featured works by Anoushka Rustomji, Bibi Hajra, Faizan Naveed, Hira Nabi, Karim Ahmed Khan, Marium M. Habib, Mehreen Murtaza and Shahana Rajani.

The show, itself a stunning tribute to the best of nature, was curated by Zahra Khan. “[The exhibition] seeks to explore the deeper impact of trees, the longest living species on earth, upon humans and the range of meanings and attributes associated with them,” says the curator.

“Trees, like humans, create communities and share consciousness. They build local ecosystems, based upon connections with other nearby trees, plants and fungi. They communicate with their neighbours and exchange data, nourishment, support and social networks — preserving knowledge and making families. Their roots hold the soil together and their leaves, bark and sap have medicinal qualities that are used for healing.”

One of the pieces that immediately stood out was Rustomji’s artfully and delicately painted Creation/ Cremation. Acrylic glaze, calligraphy ink and graphite on terracotta earthenware, it was a stunning installation inspired by the artist’s interpretation of ancient Persian texts, specifically verses contained in the Bundahishn [Zoroastrian cosmogony]. The graceful trees depicted were medicinal trees.

An exhibition at the Koel Gallery in Karachi paid homage to the oldest living creatures on the planet

According to the artist, “The ‘tree of many seeds’ (Harawispa Tohma) grew in the ocean, from which the seeds of all the species of plants came into being. Near that tree, the Gaokarena tree emerged in order to keep away ill-shaped decrepitude. The moon, through its reflected light, nurtured the growth of the trees and instilled in them their healing and medicinal properties.”

Hajra’s portion of the exhibit was a continuation of her work exploring sacred spaces in Pakistan, more specifically Bibi Pak Daman’s shrine in Lahore and especially the space occupied by women there. Her works came across as handwritten notes with incredibly detailed drawings of the trees or spirituality encapsulated in the depiction of trees at the shrine. It was an offbeat take, showing off the artist’s near-obsession with spiritual expressionism in Pakistan.

Naveed aimed to freeze nature in time by taking leaves, pieces of bark and other portions of trees and casting them in aluminum. The detail on these pieces was so vivid and the leaves felt alive.

“I collect leaves, twigs, and tree bark while taking my walks,” says the artist. “Their organic forms capture my fancy which I try to preserve by casting them in aluminum. It allows me to slow down their deterioration. Ironically, during the process, these delicate objects decay even quicker, while emerging into something stronger. This is my way of paying homage to nature.”

Habib’s vivid paintings of the flora she has encountered, especially her preference for palms, came as a welcome, joyous splash of colour in the exhibit. While the artist may not consider herself a trained painter, she definitely has a unique eye for detail and captured trees as if they were sitting for portraits themselves.

The exhibition showed how we relate to nature in a myriad of ways. The stories we share about trees and how we share them are as old and varied as the trees themselves. They say a walk in nature helps ease anxiety and reduce blood pressure; going to this exhibition had the same effect on this scribe.g

‘Walk Among Trees’ was exhibited at the Koel Gallery, Karachi from January 10-25, 2023

Published in Dawn, EOS, January 29th, 2023