ART FACTS: cultural colours of Sindh

The Sindh Museum, Hyderabad reflected the Sindh's culture and traditions in all the paintings displayed there in a group exhibition by the artists from several towns and cities of Sindh including Tando Allahyar, Sanghar, Hyderabad and Karachi. Titled "Sindh ja Rung" (Colours of Sindh) the show was organized and hosted by Culture and Tourism Department, Government of Sindh and curated by Mehreen Hashmi.
A panel discussion on topic "Growing Art Scene in Sindh" was also of great interest for the visitors including speakers Malik Channa, Nusrat Mangi, Kashif Shahzad, Shahaid Rassam and Mehreen Hashmi. The collection of paintings reflected the diversity and vibrancy of Sindh's culture. The traditional costumes of women, their chores and centuries old customs and lifestyle of hinterland fascinated the artists. The artworks showed images of people with diverse personalities and glimpse of their inner feelings. They have captured the emotions, dreams, hopes and different modes of their subjects.
The lines, colours and balanced compositions along with sharp and effective images explored the richness of Sindh's life in every painting. Artists used warm colours in their paintings to represent the vibrant mood of Sindh. They make sure that each character in their paintings portrayed its individuality and uniqueness showing simple expressions of daily life such as uncertainty, sufferings, hopes and dreams.
Thus each of the artists made his/her point through modern visual vocabulary with a touch of tradition. The artists apply vivacious colours in their own way. Each painting has a detailed harmonious composition with well balanced pleasing hues of blue, green, red, yellow and ochre.
Depicting figurative art, cityscapes and landscapes the artworks touched the basic theme of culture and geography. Almost all the paintings were in bright hues exuding refreshing energy while every artwork was inventive and some have symbolic expressions.
The artists shared their profound and philosophical understanding of life through the artworks. Skilfully expressing their emotions, through figures and forms the artists rendered common people's lives on their canvases with dexterity.
They took their inspirations from direct observations of the society and therefore invite a mood of pure contemplation in a viewer. Sharing happy and sad moments they expressed their emotions and thoughts through various colours and forms.
Most of the artists depicted a particular moment or a scene on canvas, which could be a happening of the past or future hope as subject of their artwork. The themes vary from painting to painting as each artist expressed their own emotions regarding certain issues.
The collection of paintings manifested a number of artists' artworks in diverse genres and different mediums ranging from traditional to the contemporary. Bright images emerged on canvases in a variety ranging from oils, acrylic, water colour to mix medium.
The artworks at the show portrayed several cultural and societal elements of Sindh. Each artist represented a significant culture of his or her hometown. There was a wide variety of mediums and imagery reflecting various aspects of Sindh's social life.
Artists portrayed both urban and rural areas of the province some depicted the musical performances to mark a wedding tradition or a yearly festivity, whereas others have painted hustle and bustle of urban cities through their paintings and drawings thus colours of social communities and every day life was displayed at the show.
The exhibition comprised senior as well as emerging artist's works. The participating artists based in Sindh included: Arsalan Naqvi (Hyderabad), Sanghaar Ali (Hyderabad), Shakir Ali Manganhaar (Hyderabad), Murtaza Ali Manganhaar (Tando Allahyar), Ramesh Kumar (Tando Allahyar), Farrukh Shahab (Karachi), Aqib Faiz (Karachi), Sadia Sohail (Karachi), Ismail Mehdi (Sanghar), Mohammad Fawwad (Karachi), Noori Berdi (Karachi), Sabir Ali (Hyderabad), Asad Gulzar(Hyderabad), Nayab Noor (Karachi), Jamal Ashiqain (Karachi) and Mariam Mushtaq (Karachi). (The writer can be reached at [email protected])