RAWALPINDI: The annual thesis show at the National College of Arts’ Rawalpindi Campus, which opened to the public on Wednesday, showcases the work of yet another batch of talented artists, architects, textile and graphic designers.

Graduating students use the thesis exhibit to showcase the work they have poured man-hours, sweat and tears into producing, and the current lot of 2017 students did not disappoint, highlighting unique themes and taking inspiration from real life to convey a sense of realism in their creations.

Students displayed their creativity by employing innovative mediums to highlight the political and social issues and the problems being faced by women and other segments of the society.

One of the highlights of the show was the display by Mahvish Asghar Khan, titled ‘Anamnesis of Querencia’, which loosely means ‘Recollection of Desires’.

She told Dawn it took two months to complete her concept and translated it onto the stage. Occupying the main stage at the NCA auditorium, the artwork featured a network of tunnels, shrouded in darkness and lit only by blacklight, the tunnel features intricate embroidery work, symbolizing different parts of her life journey.

“It is a recollection of major events of my life and how they occurred in a surreal world that exists in my mind,” the artist told Dawn. “It’s all in the dark and it is my inner light that illuminates it. To illustrate this, I used glow-in-the-dark thread and paints and brought this world to life using various techniques.”

Parachinar-native Fayyaz Hussain, whose work adorned the entrance to the display space, also had an innovative idea for his thesis; creating analogies that fit the real world. One of his works, a concrete boat, symbolised the ‘ship of the country’, while the scales of justice depicted the skewed nature of justice.

However, his most heart-wrenching creation was a slipper made from barbed wire. “When I saw elderly people walking around int eh cold with no shoes on their feet, my own slippers felt like they had thorns in them,” he said, recalling the thought-processes that led him to purchase shoes for all vagabonds he encountered on the streets of Rawalpindi.

Mr Hussain had also come up with ways to represent his hometown in the tribal areas, using straw mats and rugs with blood stains on them to represent how foreign influence brought bloodshed to Fata. Another fixture, a glass chair, was meant to represent the power of the government.

Imaduddin’s ‘Manufactured’ was a visual installation, which included a 3D immersive experience, through the eyes of a schizophrenic. Using digital animations, he tried to interpret the emotion of fear and the state of paranoia in his work.

There were also more practical projects, ‘Blood Brothers’ by Shamim Ahmed proposed a mobile application, accessible to anyone trying to locate a blood bank.

The exhibition also featured new works in a wide variety of designs catering to textile design including print design, mix media, natural raw materials, surface embellishment and experimental techniques. Kulsoom Ahmed, for example, had used graphic and visual influences from her daily life and the city of Rawalpindi to create lawn designs featuring some of the garrison city’s most iconic popular cultural landmarks.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2018