SLICE, an international project, is presenting 20 newly-created artworks following a dialogue between UK and Pakistani artists. SLICE is to map an imaginary line that cuts through buildings and streets, starting from Lahore to London, establishing a new dialogue with the social and physical fabric of two iconic, complex and historically linked cities.
Focusing on the first mile at each end of the line, which runs from Lahore Railway Station to Liverpool Street Station in London, a group of Lahore and London-based artists were invited to make a work each, inspired by a location on the slice.
LAHORE’S FIRST MARKING POINT: Ayesha Kamal’s video, “Point One”, is the starting point as the name suggests. The project is a stop motion animation which deals with the location at point one, which lies at the Lahore Railway Station and is a small white mosque standing opposite the Lahore junction cabin which switches the rails. The mosque stands in the middle of the tracks and is not joined by a platform.
The presence of the holy place in the middle of the busy metal network is less of a riddle and more of an object of wonder. As described by the artist herself, its presence is somewhat like a “little white lotus in the midst of the world of the greasy, noisy, clanging metal and creaking wood, giving a silent prayer so we can retain our faith in ourselves and our sense of control on the future.”
The history of the railway station is carried through the ages it has encountered. Built during the British colonial era, it has stood through time and experience; which is obvious from its condition and form. During the partition of India, this Railway Station was the sign of hope and despair alike. Trains coming from India which were bringing people to their new homeland could often just become carriers of human debris.
Besides the partition, the Railway Station has always been the centre of anticipation on a level that is common for any place of transit. The noisy coming and going of these metal transporters are always countered by the silent linger of the passengers awaiting their transport.
This point witnesses the state of despair and hope, the ever present transit and silent stillness all at the same time. And so, this mosque continues to transport the luggage which weighs us down internally by silencing everything else.
MEANWHILE IN LONDON…: The first stop for the artwork in London is Hope Square. “Hymn for Hope Square”, a video, was created through a series of chance encounters by art group Present Attempt.
Over a number of months, Present Attempt visited and used the square. They stood, sat, watched and waited, all with an array of different emotions while doing what they were doing.
Then the group of artists began to notice the huge gulf between the name of the square and the atmosphere around it. In order to mark their observation, they wrote a hymn in praise of Hope Square, in an attempt to “redress this imbalance through words and song.”
In September 2011 two groups of young people from schools in London and Lahore both, will embark on a project that will mirror the process undertaken by the professional artists working on Slice. The resulting works will be displayed online from October onwards.
The first manifestation of the Slice project will be their website that will present all the works that the artists create in relation to the line: by clicking on points on a map the corresponding work will be displayed. The website will then be launched at Zahoorul Akhlaq, NCA, Richmix and the Ideas Store, White Chapel. The project has been set up by Fatima Hussain from Other Asias and Simon Daw and Paul Burgess, both from Scale. Other Asias was created to challenge contemporary ideas about Asia while Scale is dedicated to collaborations that explore urban life. Both organizations bring with them a wide experience of international collaborations.
This website will be launched at the Zahoorul Akhlaq Gallery, NCA on September 8.
