If there is anything that has been irrefutably proven in our current hyper-connected, globalised existence, it’s that most of our experiences are collective and we are united through common practices and encounters even without realising it.

A recent show at Chawkandi Art Gallery, titled Ruminate, features works by three artists who contemplate this phenomenon in reference to spirituality, history and shared traumas.

Arsalan Farooqui is reflecting on collective consciousness and the nature of existence. He insists that our experience of the material world is what gives it validity. In other words, does anything really exist if there is no one there to witness it?

In his artist statement he says, “If one can’t determine another being’s existence, then how can one be certain of one’s own existence?” Thus, it is only by witnessing each other do we develop consciousness and an awareness of self. Only through interactions with others can we give meaning and relevance to ourselves.

A group show aims to show how we’re connected through common experiences

In his work, this collective consciousness seems to translate into silhouettes of tiny black birds repeated into clusters until they are indistinguishable from afar. We also see a series of holy relics, such as the Ark of the Covenant and the Lion Capital of Ashoka (which also carries national significance as the state emblem of India) rendered in gold over black, perhaps representing collective spiritual beliefs encapsulated in sanctified objects that, in turn, unite billions of people under one banner of symbolic reverence, whether for state or religion.

In Mirza Zeeshan Hussain’s work, we are instead united by collective trauma and our shared human vulnerabilities. He represents this through soft toys rendered through repetitive mark-making that creates texture over a dark background.

The result is a morbid visual that robs childlike imagery of its innocence and paints it in a sinister tone. While interesting, one may question how universal is the nature of trauma. The work also bears striking visual similarities with the work of a certain more well-established artist, which makes it difficult to isolate and view the work on its own merits.

SM Khayyam talks about a unity across time through collective history and, in his work, there is a sort of dismantling of processes to acquire a better understanding of our past, evidenced in the half-formed and sparse ornamentations on the borders. The hazy reflections of the vibrant cropped figures reconcile the fading remnants of the past with its endurance in present memory, through its continued representation in art as a form of remembrance.

While the three artists present works that are visually diverse, the conceptual underpinnings bring them on a similar wavelength, allowing for an exciting collective reading that creates a greater appreciation of the conceptual depth of each work.

The generic title allows the viewer to think deeper and excavate these covert connections that forge the shared narrative of the show so that we engage, reflect and ruminate.

‘Ruminate’ was on display at Chawkandi Art Gallery, Karachi, from January 18-31, 2023

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 12th, 2023