KARACHI: What does the phrase ‘body language’ mean? One of the answers is: a form of communication for human beings that does not involve ‘words’. This begs the question: is body language easy to decipher? Yes and no. Yes, because you can easily notice when someone expresses pain or happiness without verbal messaging. No, because it has a lot to do with instinct, and it’s never easy to interpret instinctual movements — they can be deceptive. A group show curated by Emaan Mahmud titled Bodies that Speak,which recently concluded at the Vasl Art Gallery, raises similar queries. The artworks that the viewer, in turn, get to see, are thought provoking and visually appealing.

The five participating artists — Alishba Binte Faysal, Farhat Ali, Lariab Ahmad, Maryam Arslan and Sarah Mir — treat the subject in a way that speaks volumes for their understanding of how to retain, and in certain cases enhance, the ‘aesthetic’ component of a painting while delineating a super serious topic.

As one enters the gallery space, one gets to read the following note on a wall: “This exhibition gathers artists whose works unravel the complete intersections of gender, identity and politics within the intimate architectures of everyday life. In living rooms, classrooms and wedding halls, the seemingly ordinary sites of belonging — the personal becomes the stage where the political quietly unfolds…”

This ‘political’ element makes the subject super serious. But, and it’s an important but, the five talented souls, by virtue of artistic flair, present their creative pursuits as storytelling sessions.

This implies that the viewer doesn’t, in general, require the artist whose work s/he is seeing to say what the exhibit is all about — the displayed works have an intriguing quality to reveal before the viewer in an effortless way. One is not suggesting that they can be interpreted easily. Rather, one is trying to suggest that the stage where the person and the political meet are identifiable. This may be seen in the following impressive artworks: Alishba’s ‘The In Between’, Lariab’s ‘It Is My Shadow That Dances Along With Me, Maryam’s ‘The Geography of Joy’ series, and Sarah and Farhat’s untitled pieces.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026