January 24, 2009

As the saying goes, you only get married for the first time once, so does an artist participate in a degree show only once in the beginning of his/her career. Although there may come several more milestones (and further degrees) in the artist’s life, but like the first marriage, the first degree show is fondly remembered by everyone — artist, parents, friends, colleagues and general public.

In this sense a degree show holds immense importance not only for students, but for the faculty and the institution too, since it showcases the most recent ideas, imagery and approaches towards art making prevalent at the particular institution at the particular time. Usually the degree show is also an occasion to glimpse art of the future, because a few (if not several) of the graduates of an art school go on to become leading art makers of the country.

With this belief, position and background, the Department of Fine Arts at National College of Arts (NCA) organised the annual exhibition of students, graduating in four disciplines i.e., painting, sculpture, printmaking and miniature painting. It is customary for an exhibition of this kind to be arranged at the end of each academic session, and every year one witnesses a range of techniques, mediums and materials, along with the visible changes in terms of issues, concerns and creative solutions across the body of work on display. In this regard, this year’s Fine Arts degree show at NCA was unusual in many aspects. It represented not only the culmination of those individuals’ works who have spent four years of vigorous training in art, but also suggested the shifting concept of art in our society.

The exhibition, held from 14th to 18th January, if on the one hand comprised of works executed in traditional formats, such as sculpture, painting, etching and miniature, included works in other media too, such as digital print, instillation and video installation. However, beyond the classification of genres, it is the idea that takes a work into the realm of art: a truth which seemed to be the recurring motif in the show.

Actually it is the engagements with ideas that made this degree show an extraordinary visual experience, both for graduates and viewers. A number of students addressed issues of violence, terror and socio-political turmoil in their creations. Likewise, the themes of alienation, gender and identity were dealt with in some of the works. The show also included a large number of works which stem from personal experience/private situation of the art maker, but projected and presented in such a manner that they were converted into shared images/ideas.

One example of this phenomenon/process was seen in the installation of Abdul Ghaffar Afridi. Hailing from the tribal areas, this sculpture student has fabricated a human form busy reading a newspaper on the rabbles. Using black light, he manages to create/communicate the current situation, where the devastating acts of burning, demolishing and annihilating humans and their dwelling have turned into merely news items. In his installation the material leads to the content in a swift, yet shocking tone.

Like Afridi, Ayesha Zulfiqar, another sculpture student, has demonstrated a remarkable balance of technique and idea. She indicates the concepts/fears associated with aeroplanes, thus mortality in her work. Her (toy) planes are either cast in tar that appears burnt, or made in melting wax, or stuck inside ice blocks that are melting.

The fascination with material is an obvious element in the work of Saroop Sofi too. She has constructed her sculptures with unusual substances such as chocolate, cakes and noodles — all invoking the question of gender. The components of pleasure and sin are cleverly blended with the edible materials shaped in sensuous items/forms.

Normally in degree shows of this sort, one comes across a large number of works, but it is only a few that manage to retain one’s attention and interest. The paintings of Kakul Kamran stand out and reveals that the young student possesses painterly quality, a feature that has enabled her to represent her grandmother and other people around her in an exciting manner.

Likewise Alibaba, another graduate in painting, has produced works which are based on simple forms (torso, silhouette of full figure, body organs) but the scheme of fabricating these has turned his work into unforgettable experiences.

If the printmakers — close to expectations — displayed a range of technique and effects in their prints, miniature painters appeared to be following a formula: of creating contemporary miniatures with sparse surfaces and minimal/naturalistic rendering of the subject. Yet some of the graduates in this genre seem to have moved away from this custom. For example Naureen Qamar chose traditional vocabulary — of heavy foliage (that reminded of Rajput paintings) and inserted a burqa clad figure in the thickly vegetated space. Her decision to revert to the past imagery and sensibility is a courageous act. Likewise Nabila Yasmin has focused on her family and rendered them in a naïve manner. Yet the scheme of composition and the choice of colour and tonal variation indicate her innovative approach in this area.

Another miniature painter Noor Ali has deviated from the norm and worked more in three-dimensional form — by building an ordinary object: the brick. But being faithful to his subject, the miniature, Noor has made tiny bricks. He has used these in order to create site specific works, tilting the perception of space and playing with the notion of depth. His work, due to its unexpected scale and visual solution, is starkly different from art emerging from the studios of miniature painters.

Nazakat Ali, graduating in the same discipline, has adapted a somewhat conventional path but due to the skill and sensitivity, his wok indicates a sense of maturity. Somewhat like Noor, Nazakat also concentrated on not a small, but insignificant creature, the dog. His drawing of the animal and compositions in urban and rural backdrops, adds a new meaning to his handling of miniature painting.

Diversity of concepts and imagery, and the existence/relevance of issues and concerns aside, the most exciting feature of the 2008 degree show was the sophisticated order of display that enhanced the formal qualities of each work and established a conceptual link between them. The scheme of display indicated that NCA in general and its Fine Arts department in particular is dealing with art on a professional level.

Merely calling the exhibition ‘Degree show’, instead of the usual nomenclature ‘thesis exhibition’, affirmed the way this event was perceived and tackled as an important exhibition, and was at par with any other exhibition across the country and abroad. One hopes that in the future, the newness of this show remains as exciting as this year — if not more!

 

1) Ayesha Zulfiqar
2) Sajjad
3) Nabila Yasmeen
4) Nizakat Ali
5) Kakul Kamran
6) Sadaf Farooq