An exhibition of artworks, titled Fractured Images by Sayeda M. Habib, mounted at the Canvas Gallery, Karachi, introduced the audience to numerous and diverse ancient and modern art traditions — movements that coalesced in her work while creating a contemporary aesthetic communication.

With interest one viewed the legendary ‘seat of power’ in numerous forms. ‘Shiva’s dilemma’, worked with delicate miniature aspects, portrays an empty gold throne meshed with our daily newspapers. Handmaidens meekly gazed in awe at the empty throne, while in another section of the artwork, Shiva is discovered engaged with his lover. The subtle interplay between the ancient and the modern in the artist’s work is achieved with masterly handling of mixed media, including collage, gouache, acrylic, newspaper, ink on canvas and wasli. Rich with metaphor the intricate linear details of the work create compelling imagery.

The artist’s interest in art began at an early age. She went on to attend numerous Slade School of Art courses and programmes before joining the London-based Prince’s School of Traditional Art that opened in 2005. Her personal interest and research began with 3,000-year-old cave drawings and continued with the history of traditions in India, Persia and Tibet as well as schools of European paintings. For the artist this has been an on-going journey of discovery.

Sayeda M. Habib turns to her own heritage to create a contemporary aesthetic communication

Previous solo exhibitions held at Canvas Gallery revealed Habib’s awareness of women’s strength and survival in society, and a deeply moving study of Karachi with its graffiti messages and neglected street children. Studying art of the past, the artist discovered the relativity of the present which she describes with understanding of the subtle interplay of ancient and modern spiritual and aesthetic symbols.

In the Looney Tunes series, the paintings consist of animals made from a colourful motley of assembled creatures that merge into the form of a buffalo, led by a smiling, winged female worked in the miniature style. ‘Fractured narratives’ depicts the impression of linear calligraphy in a floral setting, though on closer inspection, one discovers that these are patterns made from newspaper cuttings.

The central object in the miniature-styled artwork titled ‘Homage to Bidpal’ is an impressive gold symbol of authority, set in story-tale landscape guarded by a monkey. ‘Punctuation of Time’ portrays the empty seat of power beset by admiring clowns dancing and bowing to a piper’s tune. In the foreground, two small monkeys fight while a uniformed drummer plays. The work displayed is worked in numerous forms including a diptych, a triptych — three dimensional work of wood — and an enigmatic sculpted piece.

‘The deep dig’ brings the viewer to the present times with an open boat in a sea of newsprint on canvass; while an eye-catching artwork in the exhibition of 27 pieces is the

painting suggesting a family trio set in a background of meshed newspaper. Each figure bears a one-word title, ‘Unity, Faith and Discipline’. “After all,” the artist asks, “What have we to do with sword.”

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine May 22nd, 2016