The month of August seemed a month of group exhibitions in Lahore. In recent years, artists of the same taste, psychological match, ideological commonalities, and even those with no real similarities, have found it convenient to mount group shows instead of the tedious solo exhibition.

ArtSoch Gallery in Lahore showcased a group show by four artists titled ‘Illusions of Memory’, curated by Mariam Hanif Khan. However, this show can also be called the ‘Couples Show’ as these four artists were fortunate individuals whose better halves are artists as well.

This quartet of artists included Asad Ali Abid, Arfan Javed Augustine, Huma Maqbool and Rebecca Arfan; with everyone exploring the subtle patterns of memory, perception and introspection as interwoven visuals rendered through a very subjective approach. The show presented a sensory experience, where one was enticed emotionally and intellectually.

Abid has been trained academically — first as a textile designer and then as a sculptor. His quest to integrate elusive shapes and forms through his art is a reversal journey — starting from materials such as threads and weaving, or bending iron or steel wires, to rendering these shapes in graphite or ink, as in his drawings. He has always been surreal in his thoughts, exploring materials in collaboration with his ideas.

Four artists tackled memory and perception through their deeply evocative works at a group show in Lahore

His drawings in this show, which might be called instinctive renderings, still carried the patterns of a sculptor who perceives his objects with an awareness of spatial depth. The pen-on-paper compositions bore a certain naiveté of draftsmanship though, which is covered up with the expressive quality of the artistry that the artist has exercised. His work is deeply introspective, functioning as a cathartic exercise that documents the mind’s non-linear journey.

Tajasim Kalma by Augustine is a series of mixed media renderings, carrying the conceptual aspect of language. This work embodied words as seeds and language as the catalyst that can sprout and blossom in favourable environs — time, care, and proper practices can make them flourish.

Through his entangled yet simple forms, Augustine investigated ideological drives, cultural influences and religious discourse, along with the emotional, psychological and physical aspects of life, through words and language. This work mapped the linguistic symbolism extracted from the anthropological and religious patterns of the society where the artist dwells. Implicitly, Augustine touched the ever-engaging philosopher Jacques Derrida’s concept of Deconstruction.

Maqbool created paradoxical illusions with her drawings that probed into architectural spaces. With a minimalistic yet conceptual approach that appears fragmented, illusory and ephemeral, she explored the intangible dimension of existence and nothingness. However, the repeated forms, graphic mazes and floating orbs created obscure spaces — intimating the elements of suspension in time and space.

Maqbool added an interesting dimension to her chaotic drawings by applying layers of vernacular hues. The coloured surfaces of these architectural drawings are based on the colourful facades of the walled city of Lahore. Together, these drawings offer a philosophical prism that can refract memory into residues, traces and echoes.

Since its heyday in post-World War I Germany, Abstract Expressionism has used emotional charge as a pivotal drive for distortion. Arfan’s canvases were immersed with patterns of Expressionism, displaying strong painterly textures and layers of paints. The beauty and violence that she personally experienced in Karachi inspired her to unleash her gestural brushstrokes across the well-stretched canvases.

The selection of mixed media, layered and juxtaposed, served her subject matter of nostalgia, trauma and resilience. Hence, the memories were embossed over the surface as applied in impasto — coupled with scratching, pealing and abrading. Arfan seemed to revive the painterliness amongst the popular genres of drawings and inks, with traditional paint on canvas techniques that added a colourful, yet intuitive, accent to the exhibition.

‘Illusions of Memory’ was on display at ArtSoch Gallery in Lahore from August 22-29, 2025

The writer teaches Art History and Criticism
at the University of Punjab in Lahore

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 21st, 2025