A group show titled ‘A Timeless Tale’ by Maryam Baig, Farah Anwer and Qasim Bugti was held recently at the Chawkandi Art Gallery in Karachi. The exhibition served as a testament to what each artist holds dear and the personal stories they wished to express through their work. Each one of these three artists told a story through their installations that was instantly relatable and mesmerising.

Lahore-based artist Maryam Baig showcased a very contemporary approach to conventional imagery in her work. Classical art practices, such as the painting of frescos, were used by Maryam to create an impression of the current state of historical buildings. Looking beyond the signs of decay, deterioration, graffiti and vandalism, Maryam saw a trapped potential within these buildings. Through the use of fresh pigments and hues, she tried to communicate this hidden richness.

A group show at the Chawkandi Art Gallery shows each artist’s interpretation of their journey through time

Her work evoked a sense of lost time. In Forgotten Essentials, an oil painting on clay and wood, the tiny basic figurines resembled ancient cave paintings. She juxtaposed this by scratching on the painting — something she did with most of her works in this exhibit — thus giving the painting the illusion of being trapped under layers and layers of time.

Evanescent, an oil painting on clay and wood, showed a glimpse of a forbidden love under an arch. The couple in the painting stood against the backdrop of a flaming sun, with half of the painting looking like it was destroyed and weathered by time. The painting symbolically conveyed the notion that, although time will not stop for anyone or anything, love will last forever.

Qasim hails from the district of Jaffarabad in Balochistan and is a modern artist and educator. He is a graduate of the National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore. His section of the exhibit, at first glance, appeared to be a collection of simple motifs, but they were all actually inspired by the patterns found on tree barks. Qasim likens trees to humans, specifically how their patterns and rings appear with time, weathering and aging them like human skin.

“Trees share some physical characteristics with us,” he says. “These elements help us determine a tree’s age and how long it has endured hardships and sufferings, just like a human being.”

Farah based her work at the exhibition on traditional, cultural identity. Her section was a collection of her Let Be Out of Chaos series. Through each piece of work, she visually depicted the different stages of life. Each piece was composed of hand-cut acid-free paper. She skillfully and masterfully created intricate and astonishing sceneries reminiscent of Mughal miniatures with just hand-cut paper.

According to the artist, the ethos behind Let Be Out of Chaos is, “From creation until today, everything in the world is moving and things are changing, and so is the search for life, whether it is prosperous or unstable.” In Farah’s series, each installation looked like a Mughal miniature painting, sans colour, and was a marvel worth viewing.

‘A Timeless Tale’ was on display at Chawkandi Art Gallery, Karachi from March 16-24, 2023

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 2nd, 2023