KARACHI: When Sameera Raja was asked to organise an art exhibition as part of the Sindh Festival, she was ecstatic about the idea. What thrilled her most was the thought of making art available for people on such a grand public forum.
Her only condition to the organisers was this: the exhibition would display works of artists of her choice — contemporary artists whose works met the international standards that Pakistan had come to be known for. “Sindh’s culture is not limited to the ajrak and topi,” she remarked, while speaking to The Express Tribune. “There is so much more to our society than just that. What I did not want was a clichéd government-type exhibition with Thari women dancing in the centre.”
For the exhibition, Raja and her co-organiser, Adeela Suleman, chose the works of upcoming and established artists who had proved their worth in the field of contemporary art. The only criterion set was that the artist must have some link with Sindh. They should have either been born, raised or have spent some time in the province, explained Raja.
Inside the Sadequain Gallery, the exhibition features works by 63 participating artists, besides paintings from Benazir Bhutto’s private collection. Raja told The Express Tribune that she had hand-picked these 11 paintings out of the hundreds that were part of Benazir’s private collection. The canvases included works by the likes of Jamil Naqsh, Ismail Guljee and Sadequain, among other renowned artists.
Where these works from the masters are sure to catch the observer’s eye, the other participating artists have certainly left nothing to wish for. One of the most striking pieces was, ‘I Saw it before at the Indus Valley Civilization,’ which shows a life-size buffalo placed atop a pile of books. The sculpture was inspired by Moen jo Daro’s famed imagery of bulls and buffalos and also draws on the popular Urdu expression, ‘Aqal bari ke bhains’, picking on the country’s education system.
Paradise Garden
Perhaps the most attractive facet of the art festival is the site-specific installations that have been set up at different spots in the Frere Hall gardens. The giant cob-web, titled ‘Web gets stronger’, designed by Nabahat Lotia, is a delight to observe after sunset with a light show to enhance its ambience. Another outstanding installation is the illuminated minarets, ‘Bartle Frere’s Garden’, which is a collective effort by David Alesworth and Adeela Suleman.
