Every situation composed of humans and material holds complex explanations, definitions and secrets. For the inquisitive mind, the investigation to segregate reality from the perceptible truth can be quite challenging. Peeling the formidable layers that obscure actuality is a painstaking task which requires persistent research and profound understanding of human psychology.

Surreal painter and psychiatrist, Dr Syed Ali Wasif, the perfect candidate for the aforesaid research, has recently exhibited 27 paintings in oils-on-canvas at the Citi Art Gallery, Karachi, under the title, ‘Disintegration of broken souls and fantasies’, to unleash vivid reality that usually eludes the majority.

The paintings are mostly based on boldly improvised human figures, demons, animals and vegetation that have been gracefully distorted and pleasurably intermingled. These subjects, although they may momentarily appear bizarre, form meaningful compositions that are discernible for their character and the concept they represent. Every painting has been granted identity by allocating a brief title that makes it easy for the viewer to understand and enjoy the artwork.

The palette across the collection is dominated by Wasif’s customary raw sienna, earthy ochre, crimson red and viridian green. Backed by the strong creative drawing of the artist, the smooth application of paint is impeccable for achieving the complex contours and shapes. The rich details on strategic occasions have been handled with consistency to give certain canvases their specific character. The arresting texture and the blended inscriptions have been achieved by using the opposite end of a paint brush to create the sgraffito effect, which further ameliorates the canvas.

The concepts in Wasif’s current series of paintings are based on some extracts from scripture while others relate to apocryphal chronicles. However, the self-revealing interpretation of the paintings once realised fully, is highly gratifying. Through mutated figures the artist has portrayed the devastating effect of intolerance, insecurity, uncertainty and violence on the society in a manner that would send alarm bells ringing.

Wasif correlates his work to the cosmos where every element, with a unique behaviour within itself, continues to coexist, sharing the same space, among the diverse system of planets, moons and stars. Emulating the environment of the universe, every human continues to function within a solitary and private domain but with independent perceptions, feelings and fantasies.

Wasif has depicted the distress of the muted country folk who are repeatedly oppressed and denied their basic rights resulting in desolation and insecurity. The artist has established an association between artistic expression and the subjects that he has chosen to tackle. A bitter reality though, he reckons that humans are social animals who are trapped in a theatre of calamities; a dark dungeon where there is darkness, fear and despair, but there is hope for the few determined souls.

Hope is what gives strength and courage to weather the harsh realities of life, but at times, hope transforms into a deceptive mirage leaving the soul tormented and feeble.

These are the vulnerable moments, the artist believes, that coerce the humans to submit themselves to the devil and commit unimaginable sins!