Shemza briefly returned to Pakistan in the early '60s but, “Bitterly disappointed to find that a teaching salary was inadequate for what he considered a reasonable standard of living,” relocated to London where he continued to paint and exhibit his work. Abandoning his earlier figurative approach to modern art he opted for new directions more in step with the then prevalent spirit of inquiry. Marginalised as a South Asian artist by the critics his work did not receive the critical evaluation it merited.

The current Green Cardamom exhibition 'Take 2 the British landscape', the second in a series of four, revisits the Shemza cache for fresh historical, intellectual and artistic inquiry.

Curator Rachel Garfield, artist, writer and lecturer in fine art (critical studies) at Goldsmith College, University of London, examines Shemza's practice through the lens of landscape painting. Since Shemza's art cannot be bracketed easily into that category, Garfield elucidates her curatorial perspective through her answers.

What are the important aspects of Shemza's oeuvre that prompted you to curate this show?

I loved Shemzas work when I saw the 'Other story' curated by Rasheed Araeen in 1989 at the Hayward Gallery and so, was delighted when Hammad Nasar approached me to curate the exhibition. There are many aspects of Shemza's work that interest me, some of which influenced my own work in the early 1990s. I think what is important about his work is the way he experimented with modernist and culturally specific motifs together in a layered and complex way. There was no one working in the way that he was in Britain at that time but because he was not born in the UK his work was not really considered by art historians who were researching British painting. This was because he was considered a Pakistani artist and therefore only of interest in Pakistan.

My aim in this exhibition was to call for a reappraisal of Shemza's contribution to modern art of the mid-20th century to be made visible in the country in which he lived and worked for most of his adult life.

Shemza's art does not easily fall into the landscape category. So how do you apply this genre to read his works? Can you elucidate with specific reference to significant paintings?

I am interested in how paintings of landscape in Britain are excluded from the genre unless they fulfill a very narrow remit. There is value in stretching the term beyond its historical sense, particularly within a climate of omission. Although Shemzas work does not fall easily into landscape as you say, there is a strong sense of place.

My question with Shemza is how does it broaden the understanding of his work to look at it as landscape? There are several ways that his work can be seen in this way. For example, in its simplest terms, many of his works have a strong horizontal composition. If you look at the drawing, 'Letter', for example (1976) or 'Interruptions' (1972), the horizontal lines recede into the horizon. These are abstract (and calligraphic) works but evoke a terrain through the lines that denote spatial distance rising up to the top of the image.

Works that reference Pakistan directly can be seen as landscape through the sense of place in the imagery such as 'City walls' (1961) or 'Dream home' (1984). These are architectural and urban, but I would include them under landscape in the same way that John Piper's architectural works would not preclude him from being seen as an artist preoccupied with landscape.

What is the significance of re-examining Shemza's works? Does the re-look imply that he will be relocated from being an Asian artist in the margins during the '60s to his rightful place amongst his peers and contemporaries?

The re-examination of Shemza is to bring him into dialogue with other artists. If he has a milieu critically then his place in history is made more secure. Iftikhar Dadi brings him into dialogue with other Islamic artists internationally and I bring him into dialogue with other British artists.

In the next two 'takes', as I understand it, Amna Malik will bring Shemza into dialogue with the Bauhaus design and Savitha Apte will do the same with Avinash Chandra and F.N. Souza. It is hoped that this will relocate him, as you say, to his rightful place as an important artist of his generation.

What, in your opinion, is the reason behind this interest in re-evaluating South Asian artistic presence during the '60s? Why was it marginalised at that juncture in time but is being considered worthy of examination now?

In the 1960s, a South Asian artist would have been seen as not belonging to the tradition of western art. This can be seen in many of the reviews of Shemza's work it was written about as Pakistani art rather than as simply art.

Now, in Britain at least, there is a substantial and vibrant population from Pakistan that forms British culture, indeed from other former colonies and elsewhere. This builds interest in artists who came to Britain as immigrants at an earlier time. Of course the rise in economic power of South Asia is also a key factor in the current reappraisal that cannot be ignored.