Curious curio: Take a walk on the dark side
KARACHI: Full Circle Gallery opened its door on Monday morning for viewers to indulge in their morbid curiosity.
The exhibition, titled ‘Standing Collection’, showcases the dark yet realistic pieces of artists from across the country including Ali Khan, Amir Raza, Ayesha Siddiqui, Babar Moghal, Dua Abbas, Farrukh Adnan, Mukkaram Ali, Shireen Ikramullah Khan, Suleman Khilji and Zahid Farooqui.
While none of the artists were present at the exhibition, the manager of the art gallery, Kashif Humayun, said, “Most of the artists have previously exhibited their works at the gallery while some are showcasing new work.”
Siddiqui’s series, titled ‘Camouflage’, is shrouded in mystery and comprises three images which remain untitled. Speaking about her work on the phone with The Express Tribune, she said “[it shows] concealment and darkness as perceived by me. You think and conceal your thoughts but deep down there is darkness waiting to grow along those same lines.”
The basic idea is mystery and concealment within, however the work remains largely unassertive by not giving any conclusive idea to the story, added the Lahore-based artist. On the other hand, Farooqui depicts how poverty affects children in his piece, titled ‘Children of Heaven 2’. It portrays despair on the face of a child who is lost in his own thoughts. “Poverty has struck a deep rooted chord of discontent in children. This is a vicious cycle that has been going on and will continue to go on, till we eradicate poverty from our midst,” he remarked on the phone. Farooqui hails from Sukkur and is currently based in Islamabad.
Moghul’s pieces have an air of eeriness to them, while Ali uses the image of a horse to perhaps depict the dark thoughts that encompass humans. Raza depicts a Mughal character along with a gorilla using gouache on vasli in his work titled ‘Wisdom Eye’. Adnan’s piece, titled ‘This is just not a map, this is my heart’, showcases a black and white map of his hometown Tulamba near Khanewal. “The place has archeological history. It was previously a Brahmin town, where pottery used to be made,” he explained. “I am very attached to this place, [the work] shows how we place our memories, they are never too sharp but blurry, that is why the image is very dark,” he added. The morbidity of the images strikes the viewer with the dark thoughts continuing to linger even after one has left the gallery.
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