‘An Epic Journey’ of an artist
While in this world, we are all like travellers, passersby, on a journey through the cosmos. During this sojourn, we all have our own experiences, experiences that shape our views of life, our values and our idiosyncrasies.
This sojourn has been very aptly chronicled and capsulated by Shazly Khan in the form of paintings at an exhibition titled ‘An Epic Journey’ currently running at the Full Circle Gallery in Clifton.
Even though semi-impressionistic – which often pose the viewer a brain-teasing conundrum – her paintings make the theme rather self-explanatory.
This could be attributed to the fact that unlike most avant-garde artists, she sticks to her conservative values and is deeply influenced by religion, and the balance between conservative and revolutionary ideas that comes with true religion.
She is not at all rebellious or superficially revolutionary or reactionary in her expression. As she puts it, “Although my themes are universal, I still surf comfortably and confidently within the boundaries of local tradition.”
Her paintings depict everyday human situations which come as something so natural that we don’t even bother to remember them, but Shazly gives these a memorable touch, making them unforgettable.
One of her paintings, titled ‘My kitchen table’, depicts two human forms sitting at the table with the teapot and the crockery, but through her embellishing colouring techniques, she injects an element of real warmth in the work, warmth depicting the joy of getting together.
Again, through her colouring techniques, she adds real life to her painting ‘It’s a beautiful morning’ with the silhouette of a woman at the tea table with beautiful scarlet roses most tastefully arranged in a cylindrical flower vase.
Despite the nebulous sketches, she manages to convey her tender thoughts in a very profound way. This is amply depicted in her work ‘I will always be there for you’ with two women, the head of the younger woman resting on the breast of the older one, a poignant way of love, sympathy and trust.
The exhibition is a must-see for art lovers whose tastes transcend the mundane taste for the avant-garde and for those who care about sublime human values. The show will run until January 25.
” 
” 
” 
” 
