A group of miniature artists Hadia Zahra, Tahir Ali Sadiq and Ejaz Saeed titled A Terrible Beauty highlighted the significance of older miniature technique on their art, along with contemporary issues they hoped to address through their work. The group show opened on Tuesday at the Taseer Art Gallery.
Nine of Sadiq’s pieces were on display, including Even Divinity Bleeds in My Motherland, Degeneration, Carving Me Out, Has Anyone Seen Lahore? Rebuilding Jinnah’s Pakistan and Assume Liabilities. They were made using gold, silver, permanent marker, gouache on wasli, and kite-paper.
Sadiq told The Express Tribune “I am an observer and documenter of my surroundings. I’m very sensitive towards others’ actions around me. I think my work is becoming more political with each passing moment. It is a platform to record my protest.”
Sadiq said his work portrayed negligence towards historical monuments. He said a lot of ‘so-called development’ had been quite damaging. He said miniature painting had historically been used for documentation in Persian and Mughal empires. He said he intended to deploy his art to document Pakistan’s tumultuous present for coming generations.
Sadiq said that he preferred to use natural pigments along with gold and silver. He said that in all his paintings he tried to establish a link to traditional miniature painting but also liked to experiment, sometimes through the medium and sometimes through his style.
Artist Ejaz Saeed had seven pieces displayed, titled Neglectance 1-7. They were made using opaque water colours.
Saeed said that the various elements used, such as the colour palette, shapes and landscapes that merged together, were a reflection of the sentiments experienced and expressed by the artist.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Saeed said the new work was a continuation of his painting series. He said it focused further on identity and identification.
Saeed said the series repeatedly used the symbol of the circle as a focal element. “Apart from the continuity that the circle represents, I am also referencing the ‘halo’ used in old miniatures, where it is a symbol of power and a means for highlighting the worldly or spiritual wealth of a character. In my work, it serves to highlight the fact that every individual is important in their own capacity”.
Saeed said in his work he intended to show the importance of individual sentiments and interests. He said he was of the opinion that nobody should have to mould their thoughts on account of societal demands.
Six of Zahra’s pieces were exhibited. These were titled The Shadows I to VI. They had been made using ink and pen on wasli. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Zahra said “Through my paintings, I have tried to recall past events. All memories end up having the depth of a photograph because as time passes, the complexity of emotions from particular moments divide themselves into black and white. But the shadows of these moments continue to haunt us.”
The exhibition will continue till April 4.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 2nd, 2014.