The passions of the mind
Rashid Rana really needs no introduction with anyone familiar with the Pakistani art scene. Having emerged as an icon of his generation, he has been flying high for a while now and seems to be on his way still further up. His large-scale photography-based work, in which imagery emerges as an initially deceptive but eventually double narrative, has become his hallmark now and he keeps inventing new ways to challenge his viewers both intellectually and visually.
Most recently he was part of the prestigious Venice Biennale, but his work was nonetheless viewed in Lahore as well, thanks to the artist’s ingenuity and use of modern communication technology.
Well, the people are curious to know who Rashid Rana is and how was he able to accomplish so much at a relatively young age? Was it sheer luck, destiny, or a combination of genius and hard work? Perhaps it was all of this and more. Here, one would attempt to enter into the ‘time tunnel’ of Rashid’s life, exploring the events and people who helped him become what he is.
The artist is quick to acknowledge his ‘humble background’. His parents, Razia Begum and Rana Bashir Ahmed, were married as teenagers prior to the making of Pakistan and later migrated in rather tough circumstances. It is obvious that Rana has a deep fondness for his mother, whom he refers to as a ‘very strong woman’, who endured hardships for her children and did all she possibly could do despite her limited resources.
Born in 1968, he is the youngest amongst his siblings, with two elder brothers and two sisters. His family lived in Gujranwala prior to his birth and shifted to Lahore in the ’60s. While the eldest brother went into business, the second one, Arshad Rana, had a creative streak and became an aircraft engineer eventually serving in Kuwait Airways.
At the age of 47, Rashid Rana is considered Pakistan’s most exciting artist, whose art has taken dramatically different modes such as paintings, stainless steel structures, video installation, photo-sculptures and photo mosaics. Dualities and paradoxes in our society have been recurring themes throughout his artistic career
Rashid narrates how Arshad was fond of making drawings and also painted with water colours on old black and white photographs. This motivated Rashid who also then attempted to draw. He would enjoy making diagrams of his biology lessons, but other than this, art was considered to be just a hobby to be indulged in occasionally. His father had hoped that Rana would join the army or the bureaucracy, perhaps in the hope that his son could then wield some authority in society.