Art Facts: Sense of pride

Aiming to promote a positive image of our country local art, culture and society was celebrated at Studio Seven gallery, Karachi by exhibiting diverse artworks of 26 artists in a group show. The participating artists belonged to three generations from seniors to juniors, thus provided a variety of themes and medium for visitors to appreciate. One can find paintings, installations and sculptures in oils, acrylic, mix media, fibre glass, ceramics, wood and glitters.
Each of the artists contributed one piece of art reflecting patriotism. Every work of art was created keeping in mind the image of Pakistani flag as departure point, following the actual proportions of the flag to convey the core idea of the title of exhibition "I live Pakistan".
The artists produce thought-provoking and conspicuous works of art to convey their feelings towards our country and society.
Noor Jehan Bilgrami's "An Event in History", depicted the history of our country through pictures of our flag and national assembly the Quaid-i-Azam, Fatima Jinnah and Mohandas Kramachand Gandhi at the time of Partition. Some cuttings of newspapers of that time were also seen, which praises the efforts of our Quaid and wishes us brighter future. Thus reminding us of our struggles in creating this homeland, we must protect it from the foreign miscreants and work for its progress and prosperity.
R.M. Naeem's painting "Take Off" portrayed a aeroplane in the background of the national flag thus presented the prosperity and development of our nation that has taken a flight and will land safely in fertile grounds.
A huge installation titled "Tera Mera" by Irfan Gul attracted the visitors. He used mixed media to form rectangles on the image of national flag in the right proportion of white and green. The work represented the local issues where we and they are creating a gap between people and social structure is changing fast.
A sculpture titled "My First Love" by Abdul Jabbar Gull depicting a flag with wings just like a dove fluttering in the air along the winds of change.
Rahat Naveed revealed everyday local life in a painting titled "Field of Dreams". The work showed a woman sitting next to a road side fruit stall and some children trying to catch a wounded dove sitting on the road.
A conceptive sculpture titled "Shad Baad Manzile Murad" by Munawar Ali Syed also describes the daily life of our citizens.
Maria Khan's painting "Blooming Bouquet" in charcoal with three red roses and a star of the national flag in the background and some colourless leaves gives a hope for better future.
Hamid Ali Hanbhi's "Untitled" painting needs no title as it says a lot without a title having two burqa-clad females with a stony wall background one can understand the meaning clearly.
Having dark hues Ashan Jamal's painting have a lighter mood depicting a cricket lover decorating his stall of vegetables in green and white. Thus depicting hope in everything a person do and love for our country in every heart.
Hope and dreams can be seen in artworks by younger artists. It was a positive side to cheer for. A sense of general well-being and optimism filled the gallery as every art piece conveys the message of hope and good times a head.
A painting titled "Grass Stained and Sky Doused" by Dua Abbas depicting a woman sitting in a white dress, holding a gift box in a happy mood as if she knew what is inside the box or hope for something good inside. Surrounded by darkness but sitting beside a crescent and in a bright light positive vibes can be sensed in the painting. Sajid Khan's small images of the national flag floating in the air created a symphony of its own.
Abid Aslam showed the popular transport of our country in a painting titled "Evergreen" which portrayed a man sitting in a rickshaw having colour and design of a national flag.
Versatility was the centre of the show as all the artworks were full of patriotism and sense of pride. "The Sky I Lived For" by Afshaar Mallik, Aakif Suri's "I live Pakistan", Ahmed Khan's "I Love Pakistan", Ahsan Javaid's "Uss Parcham Kay Saae Talay", Ali Azmat's "Siraat-e-Mustaqeem", Amra Khan's "Gama Pakistan", Ehsan Memon's "Untitled", Ghulam Mohammad's "Untitled", Masood A Khan's "I Live Pakistan:, Meher Afroz's "Zara Num Ho", Mudassar Manzoor's "Transcendence', Mughees Riaz's "Love Love Love", Munawar Ali Syed's "Shad Baad Manzile Murad", and Sadaf Naeem's "I Live in Pakistan" were also included at the exhibition.
The show was curated by two well-known artists R.M. Naeem and Irfan Gul. The main purpose of the exhibition was to add value, hope and positivity in people's lives and project a softer image of Pakistan as a peaceful nation. The artworks on the whole promoted hope and created a ray of hope.
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