Sindh is a region steeped in history, rich with legends of Sufis and Saints, poets and mystics, with a tradition of romantic stories that have inspired artists such as Ustad Allah Buksh and A.R.Chughtai. In recent years some of the country's most exciting new art talents have emerged from its regions; contemporary miniaturists and modernists coming out of the National College of Art, Lahore, and artists belonging to a School of Realism, graduating from art institutes in Sindh. Art today belongs to a vastly expansive experience coming from countries East and West. For the observer, it provides a challenging, exciting exposure, claiming a far wider receptivity than before. In art galleries throughout the country diverse talents are exhibited and appreciated. Each viewer responds according to his/her own experience but it is a question of apples or oranges, rather than what is best, each to his/her own taste.
In an exhibition at the Chawkandi Art recently, a collection of drawings and paintings by Ali Abbas, described a style one may identify as modern Realism. The artist, who is currently heading the Department of Fine Arts Cead Muet, Jamshoro, obtained a Masters in Fine Art from Sindh University in 1993, and since then has shown his work at home and abroad in a series of haunting, impressions of his homeland. In the paintings of Ali Abbas, one finds glimpses of unexpected beauty in delicately rendered figures portrayed in traditional costumes, painted against a neutral toned monochromatic background of distinctive brushwork, strong swirling strokes creating diverse textures and areas of light and shade. The mixed media technique Abbas employs includes acrylic paint and incorporates luminous patches of watercolour that appear to explicate the subjects, and create excitement in the drab surroundings. The subtle strength of the background surfaces—bordering on abstraction—heightens the suggested vulnerability of the subjects, the direct vision of the artist examining the difficulties of their lives. In Abbas's compositions the theme is transition. Subjects are depicted sheltering in temporary abodes, nomadic people, wandering to various areas according to season and circumstance, and identified by their traditional wearing apparel.
The Jogis are costumed in long shirts, wearing a collection of beautifully fashioned jewellery, which is never removed. Women of the Kohli tribe dress in floral patterned clothes, while the Bagoris are simply clad in neutral shades. In contrast the Manghwar women wear colourful costumes; they are known as a proud people who refuse to beg.
Abbas is a skilled draughtsman describing the subjects of his work in sensitive detail. His is a disciplined palette, the linear aspects dominate, and colour is used with great panache, rendered on to the canvas with adroit effect. One is constantly surprised by small, bright touches, initiated as if captured by light glancing from a worn costume, or ornaments; bracelets worn from wrist to elbow that capture the observers' appreciative attention. Abbas's aesthetic theme is focused on the lives of ordinary people, the nomadic tribes of the Sindh region. Though the figures are described with a delicacy that is exquisite, they are in no way overwhelmed by the strength and movement of their somewhat tumultuous surroundings; they remain constant as the dominant factor of the compositions.
In the work, one is also aware of an all pervading undercurrent of change. The diversity of textures and pale shades that make up the background of each of the cameos, are suggestive of sand or the elements of fine dust that fill the air in a threatened storm. Observing the artist's work one may find a language of symbolism, astutely implied and infinitely intriguing.
