ISLAMABAD: Tanzara Gallery on Thursday opened its doors to a new art show with a masterful blend of eloquence and dark humour, which challenges the mundane and delves into the depths of existential questions.

Art lovers stepped into a world of paradoxes and profound contemplation as Tanzara Gallery presented the captivating art exhibition by Mohsin Shafi.

This showcase was a homage to the spirit of the “Theatre of the Absurd”, a movement that defied convention and found meaning in the absurdity of life.

Organises said through an amalgamation of mediums and a keen eye for societal critique, Mohsin Shafi’s pieces mirrored a modern-day “inquisitive idiot”, inviting us to peer beyond the layers of complexity and into the essence of our own introspection.

As visitors wandered through this exhibition, they prepared to be captivated by opulent frames, clever satire and a touch of the uncanny, all coming together to redefine the boundaries of contemporary art.

“We, along with the artist welcome you to the opening of the show,” said Noshi Qadir who curated the show.

The body of work investigated the inherent contradictions present in the society, which refused to allow people to be themselves, whilst preaching the age old story of authenticity. Being “You” was a constant struggle. Thus, the work explored the secret language of dreams and desires, only so as to access our deepest darkest secrets hidden in plain sight, said the artist on the opening day.

According to the artist, metaphors were used to invoke the reality as we knew it along with the fantasy, which we aspire for and the myths associated with desires. These visuals were an attempt to distance oneself from the burdens of all that was real. It was no doubt a vain enterprise to want to control the world around and to recreate it in accordance to whims. Though in spite of the vice entrenched within this process, it also allowed one to transform the ordinary into the fantastical.

The pieces spoke of these unreal realities as a way of recording them, their power and their terror.

“And in that process, I recognise my attempt to take control of the troubling world that surrounds us, where nothing is as it is and everything is as it isn’t,” Mohsin Shafi said.

The work explored the blurred lines which separated those which were and those of no material existence while calling upon the masters of surrealism to bless these imagined realities. Indeed, there was a power to be claimed in narrating one’s own reality, and thus had the potential for true subversion. The artist elaborated that the viewer was hence put in a position to question existence, and forced into that moment when one began doubting all that one held to be real.

Some of the works on display were titled “Forget the butterflies, I feel the entire zoo in my stomach when I am with you, finished on hand-cut paper collage with water colours, photo transfers, pencil colours, fabric and synthetic feather on board in synthetic and acrylic shadow box.”

Another piece was titled, “A suitable boy”, executed on hand-cut paper collage with water colours, photo transfers and pencil colours on archival paper in synthetic and acrylic shadow.

“Insomniac adventures in cozy winter nights,” was completed on hand-cut photo transfers and water colours in wood and acrylic shadow box.

The show will run till September 14.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2023