LAHORE: An interesting conversation on visual art at a session ‘Pakistani Art Romancing the Future’ at AdAsia Lahore 2019 at the Alhamra Art Center, The Mall, on Thursday highlighted the past, the future and contemporary practices in Pakistani art.

The panelists Saleema Hashmi, former principal of the National College of Arts, Rashid Rana, an artist and art historian, and Adeela Suleman, an art educationist and artist, shared their views about different phases of Pakistani art and how they see it in various perspectives.

Salima Hashmi presented a brief history of art in Pakistan in her paper. She said artists today are as dynamic as they were in the past and made a particular mention of the works of Zahoor-ul-Akhlaq, Ayesha Khalid, Saira Sheikh, Huma Mulji, Rashid Rana, Fareeda Batool and Adeela Suleman, describing their specialties and the very thought process behind their artworks.

She said Zahoor-ul-Akhlaq had a great influence on the current practitioners of art. A great diversity could be seen in the Pakistani art and a major role was played by women artists, she said and also threw light on the traditional paintings, miniature and sculpture.

Rashid Rana said that as an artist he never believed in the idea of nationalism in art. “I practice a non descriptive line not related to geography,” he said. He also spoke about new miniature contemporary practices which had emerged out from Pakistani art and showed a few images of his artworks. He shared the thought process and different dimensions of his works.

Adeela Suleman shared with the audience how she produced her artwork in the backdrop of violence in Karachi and other such incidents saying death and destruction haunts her art practice. The artist said 1977 was a watershed moment that later saw serious impact on education and art. She quoted a few examples of violence in Karachi that she documented through her artworks and showed relevant images on the screen.

Later, in a conversation moderated by Salima Hashmi, Adeela Suleman while responding to a question said art students should be inspired by life otherwise they could not learn.

Rashid Rana said teaching was a creative enterprise and working with a student’s mind becomes panoramic; at times, a teacher also learns from a student. Students should discover their new ideas and horizons, he added.

To a question at what point an artist steps back as he feels unable to show courage while painting certain issues, Rashid Rana said a student should create what he or she wants to create and push the boundaries.

Adeela Suleman said the question is how much freedom of speech one has in present times. “In Zia’s regime, there was a clear line beyond which one could not go but today I am baffled,” she said.

Salima Hashmi concluded the discussion by saying the Pakistani artists have learnt to live in a state of negotiation, working hard to survive.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2019