In a solo exhibition of her work shown at the family-managed Unicorn Gallery, Karachi, Soraya Sikander displays a visual ‘London diary’. The painted structures and cityscapes record her time spent in London in 2011 where she studied at the Print Club, and 2012 where she practised sculpture at the Slade School of Art. The Print Club was an exciting environment where she practised water based silk-screen printmaking and participated in a group show held at the Pakistan High Commission titled, ‘Art from Pakistan’.

During the following year at the Slade School of Art, Sikander worked on installations of wooden sculptures wrapped in mesh, metal pipes and foam, and set them up in a number of locations. One installation set up in the Slade School grounds, the tall, wooden foam and gauze enclosed form she named ‘The Bride’ and her teachers teased her that the ‘Bride’ was peering into the teachers’ room.

During this exhilarating, art-oriented period in London, Sikander carried a sketchbook around to record her impressions of the city, which later in her studio were developed into paintings. These unusual works appeared to examine an inner perception that resolved the work. They are interesting and singular views of the city in locations that include Battersea, Highgate, King’s Cross and Wimbledon.

Often in the past, these areas have been depicted in shades of gray, particularly by artists from warmer climes. In the colourful structures portrayed in Sikander’s work, it is suggested that the artist’s intention is to dispel the sense of alienation that emerges from the imposing urban grandeur of the scene. At the same time, they portray the optimism, expectations and sheer joy of the freedom to wander and explore new avenues.

The artist has an impressive experience of art practice to her credit. She initially completed one year at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVSAA), Karachi, before joining Beaconhouse National University, Lahore in 2008. After graduation she worked in a variety of media including woodblock carving, silkscreen prints and video, and exhibited her work in Karachi, Singapore and in Bangladesh. While in London her work was exhibited at the La Galleria Pall Mall.

In the current exhibition, the artist has included paintings of abstract floral designs; ancient motifs — dragons found on an old building, and timeworn, weathered patterns and textures created into designs. The linear importance of the overall effect installs discipline into the freely painted, bright spaces. The artist’s vision opens up a world of unusual forms and shades which she captures to share with an audience, and among these concepts one finds a change of mood with a contemplative appearing head of a sacrificial animal.

Sikander is an artist who freely fuses media, texture and space. She boldly experiments with diversity in her work that includes oil on canvas, acrylic and charcoal and gouache on paper. Much of her work appears to project a fascination with man’s restructuring of the landscape on various levels, and a deep interest in the third-dimensional pieces resulting in contemporised objects of varied design.