ISLAMABAD: An exhibition titled ‘Structural intricacies’, featuring contemporary miniature paintings by four emerging artists, opened at the My Art World gallery on Thursday.

Illuminated by warm lighting, inside the welcoming The Kitchen, the 24 paintings were curated by Zara Sajid from My Art World.

“Each painting provides an extensive narrative portraying the upheaval impacting the young artists, further urging them to create an array of illustrations with regard to their emotional turmoil. The miniature technique applied explores themes of paradox as the’ smaller’ accounts for vaster issues that seem to be grasping society,” Ms Sajid told the visitors at the show’s opening.

Fariha Rashid, who completed her MPhil from Punjab University, has a degree in painting and is also passionate about miniature work. She has participated in numerous group shows organized at various galleries across the country and internationally.

“My work is based on the subject matter ‘self’. Anger, aggression and love are the feelings that I express through my work. It is a cathartic process for me,” Ms Rashid explained.

Lahore-based Shamsuddin Tanwri is a miniature artist from Shikarpur, Sindh. He holds a BFA with honours with a major in miniature from the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore. Alongside teaching at the Naqsh School of Art in Lahore, Mr Tanwri has exhibited his contemporary miniatures at group shows abroad and locally.

“I live in two diverse worlds. One is my village Shikarpur and the other, Lahore, where I am setting my life up. The conflict and difference between these two worlds and how that affects me, suffocates me and alienates me is what forms the basis of my visual and artistic practice.

“...In some way the work is a reflection of the alienation and struggle that I face as an individual. My work is about observation and about my village life. The different layers show how I perceive reality. I see forms as reflective of an individual’s personality. The images represent loneliness and hence are developed layer by layer through various colours documenting my emotions at a given time through objects and materials,” he added.

Born in 1976, Waheed Bhutto is an emerging contemporary miniature artist who also completed his art degree from NCA Lahore with a major in miniature painting. Mr Bhutto realized his true calling late in life and enrolled in NCA in 2012 to begin his career as an artist. He said his work explores the idea of imposed decisions.

“These decisions affect women and youngsters the most. My work largely focuses on honour killings, and coerced and child marriages,” said Mr Bhutto, who aspires to bring these issues to the public eye through art.

Surhan Nizamani is an artist from rural Sindh who considers herself an artist since birth. With an art degree from Jamshoro, Surhan specializes in miniature work and is inspired by beauty of nature.

Her work depicts the values of the community around her, through the portrayal of economic, religious and social issues as seen and felt by her.

A visitor to the show, Zulfiqar Ali described the artists as promising, adding: “This is not commercial work. I appreciate the departure from the regular, horses, women and pigeons that we get to see in most impressions.”

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2016