 Ambreen Butt: Untitled, 2002 Egg tempra on canvas 12 x 12 in. Playing with a Loaded Gun: Contemporary Art in Pakistan Imran Qureshi, Saira Wasim, Rashid Rana, Reeta Saeed, Alia Hasan-Khan, Ambreen Butt, Risham Syed, Hasnat Mehmood "Playing with a Loaded Gun: Contemporary Art in Pakistan" features work by artists who explore the dichotomy of life in Pakistan, taking the nation's most difficult social, cultural, and political issues and examining them in beautiful and playful artworks. Some artists in the exhibition use the elegant and jewel-like technique of miniature painting while others incorporate imagery, materials, or styles from the colorful mass culture. In both approaches, artists consider quandaries such as nuclear war, domestic violence, and murder. They say that opposites attract - some contemporary artists in Pakistan encourage them to come together. They take the nation's most difficult social, cultural, and political issues and examine them in beautiful and playful artworks. Some use the elegant and jewel-like technique of miniature painting while others incorporate imagery, materials, or styles from the colorful mass culture. In both approaches, artists consider quandaries such as nuclear war, domestic violence, and murder. By merging seemingly divergent sentiments - grim and pleasing - they create complex works of art. These images thrill the viewer with their precious styles, carnivalesque constructions, and vibrant colors. But this delight quickly shifts to dread when the subject matter is understood. Even as the viewer is horrified, the images draw the eye closer through their luminosity. In this continuous movement back and forth, the viewer is at once attracted and repulsed, never settling on either emotion. This dichotomy suggests life in Pakistan, where even the founding of the nation combined the joyous celebration of independence from British rule with the violent events that ensued when it partitioned from India. More than fifty years later, people in the South Asian country continue to face the tragic consequences of its beginning, including on-going tensions with India. The nuclearization of both countries and the struggle over Kashmir, for example, are issues that are connected with Partition and effect life in both countries today. But even as they deal with security threats and government instabilities, Pakistan's citizens enjoy the pleasures of life. The works of art in this exhibition mirror this complexity. Artist project descriptions Imran Qureshi, born in Pakistan and currently living in Holland, treats nuclear arms like Mughal emperors, the powerful rulers of South Asia from the 16th to the 18th century. In his miniature paintings made on pages from books, bombs receive full regalia and respect that is typically bestowed on a king. This treatment is humorous and problematic in light of the relationship between India and Pakistan, two countries with nuclear capability. The nuclear bomb is shown as the protector of the nation; yet it has the potential to destroy it as well. In one series of miniature paintings, Saira Wasim explores "honor killings", the practice of murdering a woman or girl who is perceived to be promiscuous. Her paintings glisten as they tell the stories of slain victims who are represented as flowers, the delicate and beautiful parts of nature. The paintings are radiant and at first, resemble delicate landscapes. Upon closer inspection, the viewer sees something much more dreadful. In "Water lilies", Wasim paints what look to be water lilies floating in a pond but they are actually veils; the stamens on the flowers are in fact bloody swords protruding out of traditional headdresses worn by some women in the country. Wasim is born and lives in Pakistan. She is currently taking part in a residency in Vermont. Rashid Rana uses film stills to express violence and romance, two parts of human emotion that seem to be opposites but can be equally passionate. He works with the films of Sultan Rahi, an anti-hero who killed many on screen and was eventually killed by someone in real life. Among other images, Rana used a still of Rahi holding a rifle. On a panel next to it covered with fabric purchased in a local market, he placed a small photograph of himself as a child dressed in a military uniform. Rana was born and lives in Pakistan. At the moment he is in England for a residency. While trained in the miniature painting tradition, Reeta Saeed uses formal devices that are not seen in historical works. She lifts imagery from older miniatures and transplants them on to items found in the marketplace such as shirts, bags, and fabric. Her color scheme is subdued; she mainly draws with graphite on to a white or beige surface. She uses the age-old theme of lovelorn to examine domestic violence in contemporary Pakistan. Saeed was born and is based in Pakistan - she will take part in a residency in the U.S. during the summer of 2003. Alia Hasan-Khan created dessert boxes that poke fun at the humanitarian food packages that the U.S. military dropped in Afghanistan in October 2001. These happened to be the same color as yellow cluster bombs that were also being dropped by U.S. In her version, Hasan-Khan included a ghulab jamun, a syrupy sweet Pakistani cake, and wires and other menacing objects in order to reflect on the American campaign that probably caused more damage than good. Hasan-Khan was born and is currently based in the U.S. In her recent paintings, Ambreen Butt explores the experiences of a Pakistani in the United States after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Although she has lived in the U.S. for nine years, in this series, her work parallels the imagery made by artists living in Pakistan. In one painting she shows a woman blindfolded by an American flag. She holds a gun that is pointed up. As viewers follow the direction of its barrel, they will notice a bird on top of the canvas that has been shot and killed. Butt was born in Pakistan and is based in the U.S. Choosing the material that is used to make parts of rickshaws, Risham Syed cuts Rexene into the shape of a baby-sized kurta, a type of shirt worn in Pakistan. With gold thread, she embroiders the colorful, plastic-like material with emblems, alternately the McDonald's golden arches and missiles. She sometimes embroiders flowers on a canvas next to a missile that is painted with a henna stamp - henna is used as bodily decoration during wedding ceremonies. Stitching and embroidering, brought to South Asia by the colonizers, is a reflection of Victorian English values instilled into the upper class in Pakistan today. Syed was born and is based in Pakistan. Trained in the miniature painting tradition, Hasnat Mehmood chooses to expand its vocabulary. In his latest work, Mehmood made a wall drawing in his bedroom. The image is a repeated rifle pattern drawn across a wall past a window. He then photographed the wall drawing and the snapshot is the object that is displayed. The original larger-than-life size image is eventually reduced to the typical scale of a miniature painting through becoming a snapshot. Mehmood was born and lives in Pakistan. Curated by: Atteqa Ali, independent curator, Austin, Texas September 6 - October 4, 2003 Hours: Tue-Sat 11 am - 6 pm apexart c.p. 291 Church Street USA-New York, NY 10003 Telephone +1 212 431-5270 Fax +1 212 431-4447 E-Mail info@apexart.org www.apexart.org |
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