An exhibition ‘In Praise of Red’, organised by Quddus Mirza, was inaugurated on Tuesday on Valentine’s Day at the Royaat Gallery, Lahore. Many art lovers and students had poured in to see the different pieces of versatile artists who had chose red to express their selves. The exhibition exhibited works by a number of leading modern and contemporary artists of Pakistan, like Mianljazul Hassan, Ayaz Jokhio, Hasnat Mehmood, Sana Arjumand, Saba Khan, Saira Sheikh, Noor Ali Chagani, Ayesha Jatoi, EhsanulHaq, Amna Illyas and Scheherzade Junejo.
The exhibition showcased a number of exciting and interesting works, on politics and personal lives, attached to colour red.
It also signifies how artists can interpret and portray their ideas that emerge from a simple word ‘red’ which in an integral part of our culture, and others. It is only red that can be hate and love, revolution, danger, happiness, roses and blood at the same time. The works of the artists deal with these and many other concepts and employ multiple media, techniques, materials and approaches to interpret red in their individual way.
A few works from the exhibition allude to feminist concerns, political situation, amorous subjects, historical references and formal aspects of art making. The works affirm how the new art of Pakistan reflects a diversity and capacity to explore new ideas, visions, views and vistas.
Scheherzade Junejo, a young and vibrant artist who belongs to Karachi, pooled her share with the colour red. Her piece, made in oil and canvas, was inspired by yoga. The piece showed an individual in a yoga pose with a red cloth wrapped around him. “This specific practice is called Balasana, in which the practitioner regains energy by placing the head and hands on the ground to recharge comfort and calmness”, she said. She said the piece explained the relation between human and the material. “Humans are bound to expire but they live on by the things which are not perishable, materials,” she said.
Ehsanul haq, who presented a sculpture using plants, oil and a TV, said the concept behind his work actually described the meaning of perceptions. He said the feel of a red flower (rose) in the same frame with oil reflected the contrast between two. He said the visuals of the same flower on the TV describes how the perceptions of a particular object changes only by watching it from different angles or seeing the same sculpture on through a different medium, the TV. The exhibition will continue till February 24 from 10am to 7pm, including Sundays and public holidays.
