KARACHI: It always proves fascinating to know how creative people deal with the debate whether form should be given preference to content, or vice versa. Some feel content is king and should always be at the heart of works of art, others think form is something which can be experimented with, and therefore enables artists to [further] explore their creative processes.

An exhibition of sculptures made by Umar Nawaz titled Extract that’s under way at the Canvas Art Gallery aims to blur the same line between form and content, and engages the viewer with some diligently made pieces made out of iron and stainless steel.

Nawaz uses iron as his main medium. Now when one thinks of a metal sculpture, any metal for that matter, the first thing that pops to mind is its shape. This automatically implies that form is what the artist is homing in on. Not entirely true. When one moulds and twists iron, what one is trying to do is to give it a language, which in turn means that a message is being communicated. Nawaz is doing that. There is a definite attempt at extracting meaning out of a solid substance (read: subject). Viewing his untitled exhibits I and III, in colours white and black, reminds one of a phrase from a famous Shak­espearian soliloquy: “Shuffle off this mortal coil.” It can be inferred that mortality is one of the themes that run through the show.

In his stainless steel works, Nawaz focuses more on the intangible aspect of life. Here the viewer’s visual sense is put to the test. There are no illusions involved nor does the artist want to resort to visual gimmickry of any kind. He simply wants things to be seen beyond what the sensory perceptions allow the viewer to see.

The exhibition concludes on Nov 23.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2017