An abundant and sensitively arranged display of ceramics currently offers enchantment to the viewer at Koel Gallery. The tonal harmonies between the ceramic objects create a mood of Zen-like serenity. ‘Atmosphere’ displays salt-fired work baked in a very special kiln at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS). This unique kiln, possibly the only one of its kind in Pakistan, was built in 2006 by Sadia Salim (the curator of ‘Atmosphere’) and her Indian colleague Kristine Michael. All works on display at ‘Atmosphere’ have been baked in this kiln.

The tradition of using salt glazes in wood-fired kilns originated in China, from where it moved to Japan and other lands, as explained in the curatorial essay. The irregular and unpredictable mark-making, resulting from natural chemistry rather than premeditated design, on the surface of the pottery, has become a coveted feature of salt-firing.

As the bisque-coating, comprising salt, borax and ash, burns in the wood-fired kiln, it creates vapours that glaze the pottery in shades of cream, brown and black. The ‘atmosphere’ within the kiln contains alchemical properties of ‘unknowability’. Hence, the dominance of human control is relinquished once the unbaked pottery is placed within the kiln.

This is a technique that engages the ceramist philosophically as well as physically. Just as haiku poetry captures the essence of the evanescent moment, so too does this technique capture on the surface of the clay that unique configuration of clay, salt, smoke and vapour at a precise moment in time that has occurred just once and will never repeat in a similar way.

The ceramic artworks in an exhibition in Karachi have all been produced by using a rare salt-fired technique, and are a delightful blend of chemical unpredictability and conceptual depth

Salim has created glass-like vessels with a high glaze. Ostensibly objects of everyday usage, she bestows upon them a subjective and intangible layer of meaning, by contemplating their role as witnesses to her own state of mind while they were being created.

Nabahat Lotia’s untitled work is archaeological in its layered construction. Highly sophisticated as an object of contemplation, it is equally and ambiguously primal because of its curvilinear form, which suggests the torso of a human body.

Hufza Schahbaz has assembled over a dozen teapots into a tower-like assembly, titled Balancing Act. These identifiable objects represent the role of women in society and the attendant challenges in balancing personal aspiration with societal expectations. As such, her work becomes a polemical statement.

Sohail Abdullah’s broad repertoire of precisely formed objects include jars, bowls, listening stones, and enigmatic untitled pieces. The latter exemplify the highly conceptual visualisation that he alludes to as work of an “obscure tether.” His is a philosophical plunge into the deliberate and random outcomes obtained by working with clay.

Momin Zafar is an artist and a therapist-in-training. The human psyche figures prominently in his interpretation of form. He is a traveller of psychic routes, where he moves from inner to outer aspects of his own perception of “self”. His ceramics range from rounded vessels to biomorphic, unidentifiable shapes as in a series titled Security; Vortices; Darkness; Connection. These teasingly oblique forms refer to the subjective inner space occupied by the artist.

Furhan Hussain is a mental health worker whose love of gardening affirms the re-energising and restorative properties of working with soil and clay. His ceramics are all circular, as if the roundedness bestows the unbroken continuity of contemplation and restores body and soul holistically.

Aliya Yousaf’s skeletal forms are translations from 2-D patterns found on Mehrgarh ceramics, which have been imaginatively recreated by her in 3-D. As perforated objects, they bear a lightness and fragility that is in contrast to the historical weight reposed in their conception.

Adeela Shah’s geometrical forms contain enormous complexity. Like curved crease origami, entire micro-worlds of volume are folded within an overall shape. She likens her geometrical star constructions to identity, which has visible and invisible points of connection.

Lujane Pagganwala’s chimerical forms hover between animal and human figuration. A hybrid metaphysics between city, human existence and fantasy worlds is her sculptural offering. Babu Kishan, the technical staff member and stalwart of the ceramic studio at the IVS, displays his prowess in rings and unusual shark-toothed discs.

The four elements of nature — water, earth, wind and fire — along with conceptual thought of a very fine order, combine to create a very good ‘atmosphere’.

‘Atmosphere’ is on display at Koel Gallery in Karachi from November 19-December 10, 2024

The writer is an independent researcher, writer, art critic and curator based in Karachi

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 8th, 2024