KARACHI: The Outreach Committee Karachi Biennale 2017 organised an inauguration ceremony of Tabinda Chinoy’s reel artwork “Peace and Harmony – The Yellow Flower” for the Reel On Hai project at the IBA Main Campus.
IBA Dean and Director Dr Farrukh Iqbal, art critic and chief guest Marjorie Hussain, along with Public Outreach Committee Karachi Biennale 2017 Chairperson Masuma Halai Khawaja, IBA Arts Society Patron Dr Tiago Lopes, IBA’s Department of Social Science Professor Dr Aliya Naqvi, Department of Social Sciences Chair Dr Faiza Mushtaq and Jami Moiz were also present on the occasion, an official of the institute said on Wednesday.
It was pointed out that Reel On Hai is an ambitious public art project, aiming to rescue and transform discarded cable reels into works of art.
The public outreach committee of Reel On Hai aims to make the city look beautiful by creatively transforming the discarded cable reels into pieces of colourful art.
The cable reel was specifically chosen by the Karachi Biennale as it happens to be a symbol of Karachi’s industry.
Pakistan Cables and Karachi Biennale Trust signed an MoU earlier in July 2016 for Reel On Hai, scheduled for completion in 2017. The reel on Hai has invited artists, designers and architects to paint the cable reels, which will be installed in public spaces throughout the city.
The organisers of the event were the Reel On Hai project committee and the reel artwork has been supported by Millat tractors limited.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Tabinda Chinoy briefed the audience about the initiative. She highlighted the issue of lack of visual representation of the city and how this results in a lack of representation of the root culture and traditions.
She analysed the whole scenario by comparing Karachi with other cities of Pakistan in terms of cultural representation. She mentioned that Lahore, Islamabad, etc., have a better representation of culture than Karachi.
She also stressed over the positive impact art creates on young minds and thanked the IBA students, including Waleed Paracha, Hammad Ali and Muhammad Arsalan, who helped her complete the artwork.
Tabinda Chinoy explained the reel art she made, “It has two sides with two different abstract painting concepts. One is named “Peace and Harmony” and the other “The Yellow Flower”. The side, which is named as peace and harmony, was a conceptual art about gathering the citizens of the city at a single platform and providing them with the opportunities.
This also showcased the concept of acceptance of religion and equality amongst citizens of the city. The other side talked about the dilemma of women in our society and how a Pakistani woman goes through daily life problems but still manages to smile. The problems she spoke about included domestic violence, gender-based harassment, etc.
Marjorie Hussain also spoke at the occasion.
During her speech, she expressed gratitude and appreciation towards the efforts of IBA students, Tabinda Chinoy and IBA for facilitating this initiative.
Addressing the audience, Dr Farrukh Iqbal also mentioned the importance of art in the society. He talked about the diversity of art and how it affects the mind of the newer generation.
He also stated that Karachi is the hub of diversified people with different ethnic backgrounds, race and culture so there should be a more visual representation of this melting pot of cultures.
Masuma Halai Khawaja said, “We are working very hard at making art visible and accessible to people of Karachi through Reel On Hai and hope that the art installations inspire both the old and young residents of the city”. She also briefed the audience on how the idea of turning cable reels into works of art began; the first reel art was done in Orangi Town because it was a microcosm of Karachi. She thanked all the organisations for their support towards the project.
Dr Tiago Lopes stated that art is the best way to address issues and problems and therefore art should be used to address the issues and problems of the city.