KARACHI, March 20: It is understandable that artists get perturbed by the kind of violence that the contemporary world has become all but inured to. War, hatred and prejudice are the common themes that artists try and explore, and in the process perhaps understand. This does not necessarily mean that art has all the answers. It, however, does provide its appreciators with the opportunity to introspect.

Imran Mudassar is a known artist. An exhibition of his latest work titled ‘Self-Portrait’ commenced at the Canvas Gallery on Tuesday. The display is marked by the idea of grappling with the self in the light of the violence (and its tools) that takes place in the outside world. In his own statement the artist explains he has endeavoured to create a dialogue between his own body and war-related objects or events. Naturally what he means is that though blood, gore and animosity work on a physical level, they have a profound effect on the human psyche. To put it philosophically, it is the erstwhile relation; one could call it a tussle between life and death.

The readily noticeable exhibit on display is ‘You, Me & My Love’ (triptych — pencil on canvas). In a manner of speaking, the triptych gives away the kind of perturbation that Mr Mudassar must have gone through before picking up the pencil. The two pieces ‘You and Me’ (pencil on canvas), in this reviewer’s book, are the highlight of the show. The figures shown clearly indicate a war-mongering posture. But that’s not where the artist effectively propagates his ideas. It is the symbolically used dark greyness (or grey darkness) which stands out in one of the two exhibits. The colour black is often employed to represent death.

It may not be the case here. What’s obvious, however, is the darkness of body and soul alike.

To push the point a bit further, in a series of three exhibits (pencil & poster paint on digital print) the horrors of a hostile environment are shown with splotches of red, brown and green as well, but the background remains pronouncedly black. In another piece, the blackened heart (paint and pencil on canvas) amply reveals what, in the artist’s view, war does to a human soul.

The exhibition will continue till March 29.