For the past few years, Kiran Saleem has embarked on a profound journey through the annals of Western art history, navigating the terrain of hyper-realism — a genre deeply rooted in the meticulous depiction of details to create an illusion of reality.

Drawing inspiration from iconic masterpieces, Saleem ingeniously intertwines her personal narrative, immortalised in family photographs, with the grandeur of historical artistic legacies. This intentional fusion became the nucleus of her latest body of work — ‘History within History’ on display at Canvas Gallery, Karachi — offering a poignant re-documentation of both individual and collective histories.

Hyper-realism, which emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s as a reaction against abstraction, occupies a unique and significant place in the trajectory of art history. This art form, marked by its meticulous attention to detail and dedication to capturing reality with unparalleled precision, challenges traditional notions of representation.

Saleem’s hyper-realistic approach took centre stage as she meticulously painted the works of the great masters, not merely as a technical choice, but as a deliberate act of reinterpretation.

Kiran Saleem’s hyper-realistic canvases simultaneously fuse and juxtapose the old with the new

The significance of hyper-realism lies in its ability to bridge the gap between art and reality, creating compositions that challenge viewers to discern between the painted and the tangible. Saleem’s meticulous renditions, such as History within History II and History within History III, serve as a powerful lens through which she invites viewers to reconsider and reinterpret the familiar. The visual similarities between her reinterpretations and the original masterpieces were transformed into a nuanced narrative, offering an immersive exploration of visual history.

Creating hyper-realistic pieces demands an exceptional level of technical skill and dedication. The artist must master the intricacies of light and shadow, texture and form to recreate scenes with lifelike precision. The process involves a painstaking attention to detail, where every stroke contributes to the overall illusion of reality. Saleem’s commitment to hyper-realism is a testament not only to her artistic prowess but also to the enduring significance of this genre in the contemporary art landscape.

Beyond the canvas, Saleem’s intentional act of printing family photographs on to the same canvas as the hyper-realistic masterpieces introduces a layered commentary on the role of the print media in shaping our collective understanding of history.

This was best demonstrated in the artworks History within History IV and History within History V, where a centuries-old family saga is juxtaposed against, and simultaneously complemented by, a more modern family tale. This amplifies the significance of this medium as a genre that not only captures reality but also interrogates the mechanisms through which reality is disseminated and perceived.

In this amalgamation of personal and collective histories, Saleem’s work becomes a visual symphony, where hyper-realism acts as a bridge between epochs. This technique is a powerful tool for revisiting and reinterpreting the past, questioning the present and reimagining the future. The hyper-realistic lens, with its transformative potential, elevates Saleem’s artistic discourse beyond mere representation, offering viewers an intricate tapestry of visual narratives that resonate with the essence of hyper-realism’s place in the continuum of art history.

Through Saleem’s exploration, hyper-realism emerges not just as a stylistic choice but as a philosophical stance — a commitment to reimagining realities, breathing new life into historical compositions and fostering a profound dialogue between the time-honoured and the contemporary.

In this intersection, Saleem invites us to contemplate the intricate layers of meaning embedded within each canvas and, by extension, within the broader realm of hyper-realism’s impact on the trajectory of art.

‘History within History’ was on display at Canvas Gallery in Karachi from November 28-December 7, 2023

The writer is a Karachi-based journalist who writes about art and entertainment. She is also a media coordinator for the International Watercolour Society

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 17th, 2023