Iqbal Hussain's brush led him to express beyond the ordinary and his considerations along with the brush took him to the world of unknown. He experienced other dimensions and worlds by cutting through the veil of society in paintings exhibited in a solo show at Ocean Art Gallery, Karachi.
He is an objective artist and he did his work in faith and hope, showing his insights into the darkness, shadow, despair, desolation and the no-exit life situations. Stepping into the dark shadows behind which lie the un-chartered world, whose laws and existence may have nothing to do with the ordinary realms of things in our social space.
He perceived problems faced by a particular community and tried to bring them forward. What he has painted is something he has lived in a sense he is both the object and the subject of his own work.
Over the years, he has observed the women of that community suffer in silence. He captured their feelings their inner pain, desperation, loss and deprivation, the fear of aging, the fear of children born into a world lost to all humanity. He wanted others to know the unknown world behind the walls. He immortalizes his subject in paintings that belong to Lahore's Old Walled City courtesans, dancers, musicians and the river Ravi landscapes.
He used mirrors within his paintings with great sophistication, which make civilized people reflected on what was in front of them and they turn a blind eye to the facts. He painted with great feeling and got his inspiration and move forward by the approval and encouragement of his mentor, Khalid Iqbal.
He represented multifaceted life of people especially women of his community. The portraits of women and young girls he has painted over the years reflected the private lives of women living in quarters of Heera Mandi, thus documenting another way of life.
Iqbal documents their lives to the outside world that nobody has seen and felt before. His impressionistic depiction of the streets of the locality proves his indulgence in his thematic work.
Capturing the precious moments and squeezing their whole world into a painting. He tries to build an image for both himself and his community to free them of the cruel enormity that a society imposed on them.
Working in a variety of mediums, his collection comprises landscapes, drawings, cityscapes and portraits done with passion and shows his obsession of the surrounding environment. His large colourful canvases with the glimpses of another way of life attracted viewers and make them ponder.
His works depicted various moods and phases of life lived by himself. A painting by the artist revealed the occasion of a girl's wedding giving a sense of belonging to the society. He marked impressions of the life around him. At times he endeavors to escape the despair around him by changing his medium and mood.