KARACHI, April 12: Whenever the miniature genre in art is discussed critics tend to delve into its historicity. There is nothing wrong with that. The genre is described against the backdrop of Persian or Mughal art. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. An exhibition of the latest works by Aamir Habib and Taqi Shaheen titled ‘Miniature Matters’ under way at the V.M. Art Gallery uses the name of the art form and goes beyond it in a rather intriguing way.

The political messages conveyed through the exhibits have overtones that are not jarring rather tend to make the viewer go pensive for a while. The reason for that is both artists have not used the sledgehammer to crack a nut; they have done so with subtlety that’s essential for this kind of art.

Taqi Shaheen begins with ‘Cubically Yours’ (C-print on archival paper) and gives the indication as if his effort is aimed at exploring the spiritual and artistic side to life. Not so. The very next piece Miniature Matter 1 (C-print on archival paper) uses a historic image and plays around with it quite convincingly. It is the famous photograph of M.A. Jinnah and Mahatama Gandhi sharing a lighter moment. The artist allows the photo to be recognized and imparts a grainy look to the lower half of the image. Therefore while the faces of the two leaders are identifiable, the distortion in the scene speaks of something diametrically opposed to the idea. With the ‘Love Matter’ series, he does the same with the change that the protagonists become apolitical.

Aamir Habib also touches on the sociopolitical facet of our society, something which society constructs, deconstructs and forgets. ‘The Ghost’ (fiberglass, Lasani board) is a remarkable piece of imagination and, according to the artist himself, is open to interpretation. Similarly, his ‘Vision is Scary’ (taxidermy coyote, binoculars and C-print) brings the binary aspect of understanding into focus because the vision that the animal sees appears to be harmless but in totality is quite a frightening sight.

The exhibition will remain open till April 24.