Imprisonment of thoughts and aesthetics
By: Ahtesham Azhar
KARACHI: Full Circle Gallery has organised a group exhibition titled ‘Trapped’, by Amir Raza and Hidayatullah Mirani featuring two different themes.
The theme opted by Raza is about the prevalent situation of our society, which is restricted to development or progress, while Mirani painted about birds and other wildlife, being tortured and threatened by us. Muhammad Zeeshan and Guddo Haider are curators of the show where 26 art pieces are on display.
One of the paintings by Amir Raza, entitled ‘Past & Present 1’ was about a hand grenade. The grenade was green of one side and the clip of item was like parrot beak. In view, the grenade was looking half parrot and half explosion item.
As per title, the painting was depicting that terror has dominated our society. Initially, people used to spread love and peace. But now, wave of terrorism and sounds of blasts have become routine. Raza has used lighter colours for passing on of real meaning. The second painting of the artists was also on the same theme and item.
‘Dry Leaf’ of Raza was about the lady, who has bird face, reciting a lesson or holy material. But behind here guns were on display along with a dry leaf. Leaf in the painting was out of context. Painting was perhaps depicting that in our some seminaries, anti-state elements teach our kids about violence by doing their brain wash. And they just chirp them, without getting any insight on the matter. The artist used light colours in the painting to express the meaning in soft medium.
‘Kyon’ of Raza was about the faces of parrots and the painter also wrote ‘Ratta’, an Urdu word in the painting. The painting was expressing and raising questions that why the people and youth of society learns without thinking its merits and demerits.
Amir Raza, in his statement stated, “Change is a difficult thing to manage. Only those nations develop who incorporate changes in their societies. Nations which take dictation from others are known as slaves. Islam also teaches us to acquire awareness, but instead of analysing problems with intelligence, we rely on signals from others resulting in vagueness of ideology in our beliefs.”
“In these paintings, such a society is projected where thoughts are restricted to develop. As a result, more and more parrots are formed. In this society, consciousness is plundered and violence is promoted. This attitude will leave us singled out in the world. Like parrots, we do not speak our own language but speak of agendas of others, said Raza.
He went on to say that, “We deliver thoughts in our discourses that are harmful to us in the long run. Ratoo like a parrot, and contented with slavery is not what we deserve. We need not to be a parrot but use our own mind and be the greatest of all creations which is Ashraf-ul-Makhloqat, and that is what God wants us to be.”
One painting by Hidayatullah Mirani was about a small fish, stuck in net of fisherman. The painting expressed that how a fish struggles to save its life, when stuck in net. It was giving tongue to the fact that how human hunts other living thing to feed itself.
Second painting of Mirani, ‘The Cage’ was about the bird caught in cage. The bird was peeping outside with hope in its eyes to fly freely. The painting was expressing that how people imprison birds and other animals as a decoration pieces in their houses. We snatched their freedom just to decorate our homes.
Mirani, in his statement asserted, “My work highlights the issues and problems of wildlife which enhance the beauty and give esthetic appeal to this world. Birds are also the best friends of farmers as they eat all those harmful insects which destroy and spoil the crop.”
“Birds significantly beautify the image of life and in fact they make the image of life more pleasant. But our society is treating these beautiful creatures badly. People for the sake of their entertainment either hunt them or put them into cages. I strive to reflect these issues through my paintings,” he concluded.
The show will continue till June 29.
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