ISLAMABAD.
Sculptor Humaira Abid made a bold statement with her exhibition titled ‘Red’, which opened Khaas gallery on Thursday. Humaira was successful in what she aimed to achieve, as the exhibition invoked discomfort and melancholy.
The artist’s inspiration was from her own personal life, in which she suffered multiple miscarriages. She also drew parallels between violence in Pakistani society and her own sufferings in her art work.
Wooden taps were installed on walls which dripped blood and pacifiers hung from red ropes, depicting the brutal murder of two young brothers in Sialkot by a mob, four years ago. Other sculptures such as ‘my secret world’, ‘hung by the freedom of choice,’ ‘lingering prayer’ and ‘hamstrung’ express her feelings about Pakistan’s political circumstances
Humaira Abid, who graduated from the National College of Arts in 2000 is part of the visiting faculty at the college. As a student, she majored in sculpture and minored in miniature.
“To me, the colour red represents love, passion, sacrifice, blood, pain, anger and loss. It symbolizes strong emotions or things which inspire strong emotions,” Humaira Abid told her visitors.
“In the subcontinent, red is the traditional colour of bridal dresses and a symbolic color for married women. The colour is associated with love, sexuality and fertility. However, in some parts of Africa red is a colour of mourning and death as it is also the colour of blood,” she explained to guests.
