KARACHI: An exhibition of striking artworks opened at the Beach Luxury Hotel on the inaugural day of the first Sindh Literature Festival.

The show, titled ‘Keean Reejhaayaan Tokhe’, curated by Khalid Soomro, has works of 50 artists on display. The range of both content and the media, which the painters and sculptors have used, is remarkable.

Set up in one of the smaller lawns next to the main garden area of the hotel, the show is a testimony to the kind of extraordinary talent that artists from the province of Sindh have. They are bold in their expression for which an uninhibited approach to art is required, and uninhibited they are. The most cogent example of it is Fakeera Fakeero’s artworks, one of which is a fiberglass sculpture. It is a fascinating piece of artistry, workmanship and imagination. There are hints of great artists’ work in his exhibit, but rest assured he has a mind, nay, heart of his own. The sculpture will make you stand still for a few moments and marvel at the creator and his creation in equal measure.

Hussain Chandio’s work has a riot of colour that we usually associate with creative individuals from this part of the country. His piece is special for many reasons the foremost of which is the angle that he has chosen to show his artwork to the viewer from. At the heart of the painting are the colourful women carrying matkas (earthen water pots), and Hussain, instead of showing it from the front, takes an overhead shot of the view. Doing this he achieves an interesting feat. He takes the scene out of its localised context and brings it into universal domain.

And how can one talk about Sindh and not pay tribute to someone like Abida Parveen? Shakir Ali does that with flair. He captures the legendary singer in her ecstatic self with a great degree of success.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2016