LAHORE – If a place can ever be shown through images, it was in this exhibition, where colours splashed onto canvas, revealed the beauty and spirit of Pakistan, especially in rural themes.
‘A Passage through Pakistan’ opened on Saturday, at the Rohaat Gallery, depicting the character of the country seen and interpreted through the eyes of several artists whose varying observation and alternate dimensions add to this character.
Well known artists including Dr Khalid Mehmood, Ghulam Mustafa, Iqbal Hussain, Kaleem Khan, Matloob Baig, Mian Abdur Rehman Ijaz, Mughees Riaz, Muhammad Arshad, Rahat Naveed Masud, Shahnawaz Zaidi, Shehla Farooq and Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi had their paintings displayed at the gallery, where many art lovers came to view the exhibition.
Paintings were mainly done in oil colours which added to the depth of the paintings. Interesting compositions by the artists showed the beauty of arid, desert-like regions of Baluchistan, green, fertile agriculture lands of rural Punjab, and the exciting urbane life of Lahore. In one painting, Kaleem Khan depicts a man tending to donkeys, in dry barren landscape of Baluchistan.
The man is seen from behind, walking away from the viewer, meanwhile, in the background are the beautiful majestic rocky hills, typical of the province’s topography. The style is unique and powerful. Just like the ragged hills and ground of the area, the paintbrush too is used creating jagged edges, and a rough look to the entire work. In fact the style is such that it almost seems as if the heat waves can be seen, with the blurry and impressionist style of painting.
The work is so intricate that even the shadows can be seen with precise detail, and if the painting is divided into a detailed grid, then each small square has a different colour, which as a whole translates into a multi dimension effect.
Muhammad Arshad’s serene and tranquil scene of a small lake, surrounded by eucalyptus trees could be a scene from anywhere at all in Pakistan, but the trees which are so typical of this country, and can be found almost anywhere, radiate a peaceful, familiar and homelike feeling for the spectator.
The lake, or maybe part of a river, is also very typical of this equatorial country. It almost gives out a story as if it is inviting the art lover to delve into his or her imagination and seek out a place like this, on a hot summer’s day, a place where wild grass grows undisturbed, surrounding the still, tranquil waters under the shade of these scented trees, with their smooth white barks.
Meanwhile, Masoud Ahmed’s painting of a horse pulling a wagon is a typical cubist effort. Perhaps the cube like ‘divisions’ within the painting are depicting the mechanical life in a village, the not-so-out-of-the-box image of a small field, where crops are harvested and piled onto the horse’s cart, after which the animal pulls it to the nearest barn yard for storage. It is indeed surprising how much story one small scenario depicted in a painting can invoke.
Matloob Baig’s fascination with the typical Punjabi scenario of a green field filled with beautiful, bright yellow ‘mustard seed’ (sarson) flowers is also mesmerizing. It is the archetypal landscape either on the outskirts of Lahore, or in passing fields as a train runs through the Punjab countryside. Although no creature or person is seen in these fields, the picture is full of life, with the beauty of colours and flowers represent the advent of spring, the best part of the year to see anywhere in Punjab. In the middle of the painting, two trees like lovers stand facing each other. Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi’s work depicts an idyllic landscape, where mud huts edge the painting, and a long road shadowed over by trees and flitting sunlight. Here too no human form is seen, but the mud huts with their tiny windows are enough to show that it is an inhabited village.
A peaceful mood dominates the scene and the sunlight seen so clearly and painted with such fine detail is a refreshing element to see in this painting. It gives warmth and life to the painting. The exhibition had several other paintings which were admired by many art lovers who came. With such a response from the art viewers, and critics, the exhibition is expected to carry on till January 21, 2011.
