Thesis display — the artist’s final burst from the chrysalis — can be an invigorating experience for the onlooker if the projects accost the eye and engage the mind. Animated by creative surges the current Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture ‘Graduating Class 2012 Degree Show’ had its fair share of sparks that blazed and simmered at varying levels in the students’ work.

Comprising works of 16 artists, the show had an interdisciplinary orientation where diverse personal, environmental and sociopolitical questions were addressed through a wide-ranging vocabulary of formal/informal languages and media.

Decorative, interactive public art by Rameez Rehman and Tehmina Maknojia drew immediate responses as they attracted active audience participation. Prompted by a subconscious fascination with reflection, Rehman, exploring ancient mirror mosaic art, opted for contemporary interpretations.

Composing small circular mirrors or narrow glass bars into large discs, undulating panels and screens he invited viewers to read their changing reflections in the mirror glass arrangements as the electrically powered works spiralled or gyrated rhythmically. Rehman by discovering new possibilities of distortion, illusion, abstraction and movement through mirror image, highlights the aesthetic potential inherent in the neglected medium of glass art.

Taking her cue from children’s outdoor play sets, seesaws and jungle gyms Tehmina Maknojia had created striking functional sculptures that doubled as climbing frames, and rocking boats. Combining art and utility by creating functional forms for all age groups she succeeded in elevating ordinary playground equipment into attractive artistic fixtures.

‘Fragments of doors, balconies and drainage pipes’ were some immediate features that registered in Anum Ather Jamal’s mind while ‘travelling and shifting’ from one apartment to another in a congested overcrowded city like Karachi. Building her art content on a tally of Quick Response (QR) Codes based on incidents she encountered on a daily basis Jamal composed three dimensional panels in graphite on board where certain architectural facades and fixtures jut out while others recede. Well resolved aesthetically and conceptually her massive wall installation, titled, ‘Heterotopia’ (space) references a concept of "other spaces" created by philosopher Michel Foucault.

Among other self-referential projects which also addressed grave public concerns Fatima Munir’s transfer of traditional embroidery onto meshed car screen sheets spelling out phraseology like ‘Hangami halat’, ‘Qatil’ and ‘Take the car but leave my husband’, was poignant and instantly relatable to the present environment in Karachi.

Sculptural pieces /installations in varied media by Eema Alvi also focused on current violence and social breakdown to highlight public misery as well as insensitivity both of which are in evidence currently. Her wall installation of several charred tricycles not only evoked the horrific and now common phenomenon of torching buses and cars during protests but also hinted at the long-term psychological implications of such insane acts on the younger generation.

Several works were of a confessional nature, Anam Yacoob Paracha’s shrouded, uninhabited interiors and tightly wrapped packages talked of the trauma of displacement. Literally taking refuge in the world of books Aniqa Imran recreated her introverted state of mind through stacked, bound, disfigured and decaying book installations. She further expressed her condition by rewording text on printed magazine covers, book titles and posters.

Giving physical form to severe emotional distress, Hamida Khatri opted for painfully convoluted figurative expressions in graphite on paper. Laila Rizvi envisaged the natural beauty of ageing and the desire to cherish it through the animate form of her mother and her belongings and the fading glory of inanimate architectural structures.

Nisa Karamatullah documented the intimacy of a personal relationship that was initially negated, through the lens of a photographer. She focused on body postures, garments and hand gestures of the senior figure to express her closeness and affection.

Nimra Khan located excitement in the tiny flaws that occur in structured patterns as in chequered grids on a table cloth or disorder in closely knit wire net screens. Intricate gouache on wasli paintings by Zohra Amarta Shah detailed her emotional responses to the pain and beauty of love.

Exploring the issue of unity in diversity, Quratulain Mahar chose to investigate the varying fold patterns of the ubiquitous crocheted prayer cap common to all Muslims. Using a black and white monochrome palette she employed several media like ceramics, photography and weaving to justify her premise. Imagery of men performing the prayer ritual woven into a beaded curtain wall hanging was striking.

The confusion an immigrant feels between a native dialect and the language of her host country was well narrated in Nilofer Kamruddin Kotadia’s thesis display. She made intelligent use of design elements and graphics by juxtaposing the Urdu and Gujrati scripts to demonstrate the linguistic peculiarities of both languages.

Unlike shows blemished with loose ends, incompleteness and straggling displays the IVS 2012 graduate projects were well contained and reasonably resolved. The crossing and merging of mediums, investigation and use of content from diverse areas of thought and a greater awareness of the global context within which contemporary art is made and circulated is bound to facilitate the fresh graduates’ entry into professional practice.

However, what remains to be seen is just how many of the degree holders will have the passion and gumption needed to pursue a creative career. The present post-graduation dropout rates among art students at large are distressing.