Wandering into an art exhibition held by artists one has very little preconceived notions of can either be enormously rewarding or bitterly disappointing. Most of us who regularly visit art galleries know, more or less, what to expect from the works of established artists.

Hence, there is a thrill of discovering artists who have recently emerged on the horizon and already seem destined for a promising future. The exhibition ‘Free Will’ at the art gallery Numaish Gah in Lahore displays the works of two such artists.

Both Shahid Hassan Boni and Hooria Khan are graduates of the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore, and have amassed an impressive resume in a very short period of time. It is easy to understand why once you see their work. Boni’s artwork is reminiscent of Mughal miniatures but also embodies the modernist sensibilities of artists like David Hockney.

Upon first glance, his style seems familiar, but the longer one stares at his works the more puzzling and disquieting they become. On the other hand, Khan’s paintings initially appear to be abrasive and cryptic but grow to reveal a tenderness upon repeated viewings.

The two-person show at Numaish Gah in Lahore is compelling and disquieting in equal measure

Boni, who is based in Hunza, has specialised in Indo-Persian miniature painting, and the Persian and Mughal miniature style is the first thing one notices in his artwork. The architectural spaces in his paintings represent emptiness and isolation, whereas the dense foliage depicts a deep connection with nature and one’s inner self.

Through his work, Boni explores the state of displacement and how the environment has an impact on an individual’s mental state and behavior.

Take for instance his artwork Stairways To Nowhere, which is made using graphite on wasli paper. The image shows a white staircase rising heavenwards in a forest densely packed with all kinds of trees and shrubbery.

Boni manages to make this seemingly innocuous scene appear foreboding through the inclusion of a chasm at the top of the staircase, almost as if, midway through their ascension to heaven, travellers were chucked downward into the pits of hell instead.

Several of Boni’s paintings also include men in various states of undress trying to navigate, harness and embrace all that nature has to offer. His men swim, lie ideally on the grass and gaze into the water with a certain nonchalance, which is contrasted with those paintings of his which have men trapped in rigid social constructs. In Walled, Boni depicts a man caged by walls, yet yearning to break free and escape into the world that lies beyond his window.

Khan graduated from NCA with a specialisation in miniature painting and minors in taxidermy, calligraphy and photography. Khan’s artistic vision seems to centre on exploring the ritualistic stereotypes embedded in our society. Her work emphasises the blending and juxtaposition of organic and inorganic elements, highlighting certain anomalies that hide in plain sight.

Many of her paintings seem preoccupied with the demons that exist within us all and how they influence our behaviour. Her work comes across as something one would find drawn in The Arabian Nights or Dastan-i-Ameer Hamza. Khan’s fantastically twisted creations explore the notion of sin and evil, as evidenced by her paintings aptly titled, Hear Nothing, See Nothing and Speak Nothing. Khan’s paintings do appear rather grim but, much like Boni’s work, they are undeniably compelling.

‘Free Will’ was on display at Numaish Gah in Lahore from June 4-13, 2023.

The writer is a freelance journalist

Published in Dawn, EOS, June 18th, 2023