ISLAMABAD: Unique works depicting objects, thought processes and time that were created during a two-week residency have been displayed at a small space located inside a 14-acre vineyard and farmhouse in H-9.

The show titled Baad-e-Saba (morning breeze) opened on Nov 6 and features works by five artists who were part of the residency, offered by Daastangoi, an international organisation that aims to promote the richness of Pakistani culture and history.

Talking to Dawn, Amad Mian, organiser of the residency, said: “The aim of providing space for art and culture is to explore the talent of our country, facilitate them and use available resources for their benefit.”

He said there was a need to revive pride in Pakistani culture and the tradition of storytelling. “Culture is not built in a studio; it happens when you are a part of the process,” he said.

He added that storytelling is about learning, having fun and coming together, wherever you are in the world.

Largely inspired by nature coupled with a brilliant blend of light and colour, the final works are a product of each artists’ evolving perspective.

Zahra Asim, a Lahore-based visual artist, painted moments from her stay at the farmhouse on brass in the form of a visual diary. Her work captures nostalgia.

“My work is always a diary in a visual form, and I feel as though I have captured it during the residency as I have depicted my perspective of the place and the moments I experienced,” she said, adding that “throughout the residency, I have learned to think outside the box”.

Shedding light on her work, Mr Amad said Zahra had painted on brass sheets depicting the feeling of nostalgia, when one went on a trip down memory lane as if they were looking through the pages of a diary.

Syed Mustafa Mohsin painted the landscape of Islamabad using oil paints on linen at different times of the day. His works include Mona Lisa ki Mehran and How to Catch a Cold.

“In my paintings, I identify the harmonious relationship of colour between the earth and the sky. These ever-changing relationships of colour between temperature, chroma and value, when found correctly, reveal an impression of a specific place, and a short moment of passing. The subjects however are only an excuse to represent and study the effect of light for each passing day,” he said.

Dinal Jalil, using black ink and gold leaf on archive paper, highlighted the beauty of nature in her work. She drew different designs and geometrical patterns showing how the echoes become grey in one’s head although everything is absolutely black and white and straight if one is able to understand.

Maryam Baniasadi, an Iranian miniaturist now settled in Lahore, has painted changing processes in nature as it is impacted by human intrusion. She has learnt and continues to practice traditional miniature art under the supervision of Iranian and Pakistani teachers. This greatly enhanced her ability to, through her work, build a bridge between the two countries she considers home: Iran and Pakistan.

Mubashar Iqbal’s work involves the process of exposure of images including people, trees, leaves and shades using the cyanotype technique. Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2021