KARACHI: It is a difficult task to write about a group show, but a task which is thoroughly enjoyable, because while trying to analyse creative processes of a bunch of individuals, one is always looking to find common ground, a thread that connects the artists and their works displayed under one roof. One such exhibition titled Inside-Out is under way at the Chawkandi Art Gallery.

It is a must-watch show because the participating men and women are some of the most distinguished artists of the country. This makes it even harder for lovers of art to write down their thoughts on the kind of artworks that they have put on view. But curator of the event Sheherbano Husain doesn’t let that happen in her elucidatory note (which such notes are meant to do): “Inside-out means to start with self; essentially, to look within, before projecting without — introspection versus reduction, self-reflection versus reaction. Today, we find ourselves in a highly polarised world, flooded with external stimuli that continue to hypnotise us. Our growing obsession with social media, online entertainment/news and gadgets alienates us from our true nature and from each other.”

These are valid comments and one agrees with them for the most part; but the use of the preposition ‘versus’ creates a binary that poets, writers and painters often try to grapple with. And this is where the show becomes all the more interesting.

As is often the case with modern-day thinkers and creators, there are two types of artworks on display: one, those that deal with individual’s choices and their position in society because of it; two, those that are to do with society against the backdrop of history’s progression (or lack of it). Here’s how: in the first category, the viewer is introduced to paintings through lines penned by the likes of Rumi and Michael Rumaker; in the latter, the artists look back to the times when classical European art was taking root or to the 1970s when technology hadn’t penetrated into our lives in the ‘Big Brother is watching you’ way. And the 11 artists do a fine job in attracting the viewer’s attention to these two strands, primarily because of their top-quality efforts done in a variety of media (mixed media on paper, synthetic enamel on canvas, graphite on paper etc). Their approach to the subject is one to which the curator has hinted, especially with reference to the introspection-versus-reduction aspect of the argument.

The names of the artists taking part in the exhibition are: Asim Akhtar, Afshar Malik, Ahmed Ali Manganhar, Amna Hashmi, Anas Ghauri, Anwar Saeed, Ilon Yusuf, Qadir Jhatial, Saba Iqbal, Sheherbano Husain and Zoya Alina Currimbhoy. Inside-Out concludes on Sept 2.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2019