July 26, 2008

Diaspora art, regardless of its home country, is generally marked by themes of remembrance, identity, sometimes displacement and the idea of settlement into communities that may be regarded as foreign. However, expression varies from one diaspora to another, and even more so, in today’s politically charged world.

The Pakistani diaspora is also actively engaged in making its voice heard around the world in terms of the art that it is currently producing. Several Pakistanis residing in North America and the United Kingdom, and even in Australia and parts of Europe, have made their mark as artists with a distinct Pakistani voice.

Interestingly enough, not only are some of these artists employing subjects from the home country is their works, they are also using the miniature and contemporary miniature styles of painting, which are abundantly practiced by artists in and from South Asia as well as Iran. These artists include Tazeen Qayyum and Sylvat Aziz, both based in Ontario, Canada. Another miniature artist in the diaspora is Ambreen Butt who resides in Boston, Massachusetts, while Nusra Latif practices in Melbourne, Australia. These are only few of the several Pakistanis practicing the miniature technique and keeping it alive in the diaspora.

Sylvat Aziz, who teaches art at the Queens University, Toronto, and has been an involved artist for the past 30 years. She uses her work to evolve a holistic perspective of Pakistan’s complex cultural formation in which various other actors, such as, history, geography and religion play a crucial role. Her rather recent series, ‘Mother of all postcards’ is an interesting depiction of a socio-religious mix as it currently exists in some parts of Pakistan. The series also includes an installation of veiled figures and is perhaps intended to imply women who are covered to the extent of being blind-folded, inevitably commenting on some of the socially enforced customs in the country which may not be always healthy.

Rashid Rana is another Pakistani artist who divides his time between Lahore and Toronto. Some of Rana’s work deals with the themes of history and colonialism in South Asia, and the difficulty of achieving a definite culture in the post-colonial world which is undergoing globalisation. He questions the concept of a homogenous, monolithic culture in the post-modern era. On the other hand, he appears to value Pakistani culture in its current mixed form and seems to be considering it in a developmental phase.

Rana is also known for employing non-traditional methods in his works; methods such as employed by famous American artists Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons. The ideas where his focus lies more specifically are popular culture, violence, violence in popular culture, politics of gender and most of all the question of presenting reality as a work of art and how sufficient or worthy that work may be for such a representation.

Another artist from the diaspora is Tazeen Qayyum, whose main forte is miniature painting. Initially trained at the National College of Arts, Lahore, Qayyum currently resides and practices her art in Toronto, Canada. Not only that it is the miniature technique that she uses, which is a mainly Persian and South Asian method but also the ideas and issues that she explores in her works are contemporary and representative of the concerns of not just a member of the diaspora, but also of a modern citizen of the world. Some of her works put in a critical perspective, modern warfare, a theme on which Qayyum has worked extensively. “Thematically, I had already started some political works in reaction to the US led wars, so the theme in my work is still similar and is evolving like the war itself,” she says.

Not only has Qayyum worked with the traditional miniature and contemporary miniature styles, in 2006 and 2007, she also produced a ‘performance based project’, in which she created and directed a Tableau Vivant of a historical miniature painting along with a western painting. “Using live performers, musicians and video projections I created an environment in which people could literally walk into a painting and have an experience,” she explains.

Amin ur Rehman is another Pakistani artist based in Canada. His social and political awareness clearly comes out in his various works and some of the issues that he has tackled in his art are consumerism, globalisation and neo-colonialism, rapid industrialisation in the Asian part of the world, the situation in Iraq and even the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

His focus is mainly on how words as disseminated by the media formulate consciousness. Recently exhibited at the Chawkandi Art Gallery, his work ‘A tale of darkness’ comprises of triple-hung vinyl texts of political slogans, media jargons and tabloid headlines, astutely criticising the power that media exercises in the political time-bombish atmosphere of today’s world.

Another Pakistani-Canadian artist who displayed her works with Amin ur Rehman is Naz Ikramullah. Some of her work focuses on the idea of adaptation to culturally varying environs while at the same time maintaining one’s own separate identity. Apart from that, her work deals with contemporary themes and events which affect/have affected business-as-usual for various people. For example, her recently displayed acrylic on canvas painting titled ‘Hamara Karachi’ depicts blindfolded people treading aimlessly was a rendering of what Karachiites went through on the evening Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.

Apart from the several artists, who in their own individual capacities are trying to make the Pakistani voice an important one in the global context, there are several organisations which support these artists in various ways and regularly feature them and promote their works. The South Asian Gallery of Art (SAGA) is one such organisation based in Toronto. SAGA forms an important platform featuring artists from the South Asian diaspora, including several Pakistani artists. This forum not only allows these emerging as well as established artists to exhibit and promote their works, but also assists South Asian art enthusiasts to understand the spirit of the region as well as the diaspora.

The South Asian Visual Artists Collective (SAVAC) is another Toronto-based organisation which provides South Asian visual artists an adequate platform for the presentation as well as a resultant development of their works. As a matter of fact, the organisation mostly deals with works and subjects that explore avenues affecting modern South Asian experiences and the questions of identity and belonging.

Green Cardamom is another ‘international arts organisation’, based in London, with special focus on South Asian artists and assists them in the initial stages of their international careers.

Countless Pakistani artists based abroad are practicing well and achieving recognition in international art circles, with several of them producing works which are not only based within the context of Pakistan alone but in fact how Pakistan and Pakistanis exist in a much larger global scenario.