Rohtas Gallery, Lahore recently showcased four emerging artists, Sana Kazi, Romessa Khan, Mariam Hanif and Ghulam Hussain, in a preview titled, ‘In Transit’. Consequently, the exhibition is destined for display in Chelsea, New York, during the first week of May 2013 by Ilham, an organisation that motivates young artists to exploit their creative potential.
Under the curatorship of Khuram Hussain, the exhibition has been planned in collaboration with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The show centres on the latest trends in contemporary art and provides an insight into the modern Pakistani society where, given the socio-political changes in the country, the youth is increasingly using art to instigate discussion on social and political issues. The collection reflects the tribulations of life as it progresses from the innocence of birth to the complexities of adulthood; a juncture where the search for absolute truth becomes an obsession.
A die-hard miniature painter, Kazi instils life into her subjects utilising non-traditional materials such as ash, brick powder, sawdust and white cement that are intuitively applied to manifest her profound fascination with the classical art. She explores the idea of collective consciousness and wonders whether it is possible to know anything with certainty.
Her paintings in ash infused with graphite are punctuated with sensitive strokes of gouache in pardakht (a traditional technique of miniature painting). The artist brings her subjects to life through mediums that grant her access into the surreal domain of vivid imagination with enormous realism. The distinctive choice of palette often makes her work transcend the limits of uniqueness and aesthetics.
Hussain’s assemblages and arrangements are based on the fusion of traditional arts and crafts with a contemporary approach to portray modern thought. The artist, trained in miniature painting, tackles his subjects with simplicity giving full exposure to the indigenous craft that is gradually fading.
Subjectively rich in nostalgic flashbacks, Hussain’s works brilliantly reincarnate childhood memories, luring the viewers into the dreamy lair of gratifying reminiscences. Weaving with paper tussles, he builds illusionary images that are comprised of traditional motifs and patterns connected to his roots in the outback of Sindh.
Khan considers creative art a source of serenity and a probable route to touch the inner self. She regards the stark surfaces of her canvases a very personal domain which gives her the freedom to express without limitations. Treating her linear drawings as basic building blocks, she gives herself the power to surpass the boundaries of physical expression and visualise the most astounding compositions.
The artist draws persistently and considers it an act that unlocks what dwells in the depths of her memory and gradually refines the nebulous imagery. The paintings made from ink on paper are composed of countless tiny circles, lines and weaves with the act of repetition creating intricate compositions that leave the viewers awestruck and gratified.
Hanif, an accomplished printmaker, engages art with a mission similar to the spiritual exploration that probes the concept of life and death. She creates a distinguishable relationship with space, nature and the elements by deciphering the meaning of fleeting time and inevitable death. The outcome shows Hanif’s allure to the amalgamation of all things — the beautifully orchestrated motion that draws all creation into its eternal continuum. She experiments with different mediums and surfaces with the sole objective to interpret deliberate intention, visual memory and context.