KARACHI: In the city of lights, folks teamed up to put on a special art show, featuring a meaningful mix of colours and artworks created by neurodivergent artists at Sambara Art Gallery in Liaquat Memorial Library.
What made this art show special was that each artist was dealing with a different mental issue, but they were bravely channelling their struggles into the art they made.
The show, The Neurodivergent Artists, was brought to life by the lead curator Umm-e-Habiba, assisted by Hafsa Fatima.
Surhan, an autistic artist, chose a painting that showed comments she had endured at different points of her life. “I have captured a series of photos that showcase what I find interesting in my everyday life,” she said.
Nauma Syed, another amazing artist, went through tough times as a child due to sexual abuse, leading to even more difficult experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder. In an untitled abstract art piece, she used really bright colours to show hope — the thing that kept her going all these years.
Another eye-captivating work was of Sabahat Arsalan. The strokes of lavender and dark purple gave the entire painting a very soothing look.
“Art is undoubtedly a potent tool for expressing emotions and putting feelings of melancholy, gloominess, unhappiness, nervousness, sadness or anger. As a woman, I have a softer heart, and through my art, I aspire to express the feelings I am usually going through,” she said.
Another very young artist, Sana Iftikhar Tanoli, who suffers from General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) was also exhibiting her still-life painting which was in bright shades of yellow and blue. She started making art as a coping mechanism when she would feel anxious, and it is safe to say that she has channelled the chaos of her mind in the art she creates pretty well.
A painting that quickly got everyone talking showed the effects of sexual abuse on kids who’ve been through it. It used orange and teal colors, inspired by a poster at the Aurat March in Lahore that displayed the clothes that victims wore during the abuse. This painting was made by Maryam Sana who herself was subjected to the horrible abuse.
“What happens in early childhood matters for lifetime. That trauma leaves an imprint on a child’s personality. In my art, I try to depict how that experience becomes a part of child’s personality and leads to so many issues like depression, PTSD, and others,” she said.
Muhammad Noman, Hafsa Javed, Sammar Asif, Eman Jehangir, Anam Faisal, Dua Saeed, Naveen Syed, Ghulam Asghar, Zeenat Rizvi, Ayesha Yousuf Bhatti, Ruqayya Faheem, Mahrukh Siddiqui, Afia Mehmood, Suhaina Zaheer Ansari, Darakshan Malik, Mahnoor Sarfaraz, Aiman Akbar Jatoi, Fizza Batool, Hassan Channa, Janta Kumari, Afsah Sarwat and others were the contributing artists.
The exhibition was a hit, and everyone who walked in the gallery did not regret making this decision of stopping by.
Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2023
