KARACHI: One can create art about a politically unstable scenario, especially about that in which displacement — in certain cases abandonment — of people comes across as an unavoidable reality. But to make that scenario appear in a single frame with all its tactile and visual truthfulness is no mean feat. It requires artistry of high quality and the ability to empathise with those whose stories the artist is trying to tell. And if it’s coming from an experiential space, then the art created becomes extremely impactful.

A group exhibition titled In the Eye of the Storm curated by Aasim Akhtar which will conclude at the Chawkandi Art Gallery on June 27 tugs at the viewer’s heartstrings, at least, on a couple of levels. One: it puts on display the works of five remarkable Hazargi artists, which means they belong to an area that has been in the ‘eye of a sociopolitical storm’. Second: the works are contextually sensitive and aesthetically of a caliber that’s not easy to achieve.

The five participating creative individuals — Asef Ali Mohammad, Gulsoom Musa, Hassan Raza, Noroz Ali and Shakila Haider — have told the tales they want to put across to a wider audience with an amazing degree of verisimilitude. This means that while the viewer marvels at their art (and there’s lots to marvel at), the subject matter — implied or clearly expressed — comes to the fore with all its creative force, making the techniques applied by the artists to take a back seat.

The viewer will find photographs, engravings, collagraph, watercolor and mixed media artworks underlining the variety that the show entails; and yet, it all boils down to what’s being shown by employing those mediums. There are stories of resilience; issues associated with memory, misrepresentation and political peripheries; and the challenges posed by oppressive forces. They enable the viewer to think — both about society’s shortcomings and the powerful role of art in highlighting them.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2025