Contented and composed Farazeh Syed was lucky to be adopted and groomed by her grandmother, Malika Pukhraj, a legendary singer. The passion for classical music, Eastern culture and Punjabi language dates back to the early days of her childhood.

“We were not allowed to speak any language other than Punjabi at home. My grandmother put in a lot of effort to teach me music. I was a restless child and could not sit for long hours to practice, but I continued learning,” she recalls.

After learning the basics of printmaking at Gandhara School of Visual Arts, she joined the studio of Iqbal Hussain to master the skills of painting.

From portraits to the figures in various compositions, the females always remained the focal point of her visuals.

“The Western painters portray women like a passive object, and not as a human being, an object with no identity and individuality, but the women of East had enjoyed a dignity. Since ancient times, they have been worshipping as goddesses, admired as the symbols of fertility. Their femininity was worshiped and celebrated. The indigenous tribes have female goddesses.

“Our folk poetry admires women; Waris Shah is all about Heer, who rebels and takes stand. He knitted the story which is all about women.

“The Indian sculptors at Khajuraho portrayed the female figures as active humans, not as submissive or passive objects.

“We have a rich cultural heritage but the Britishers came and would tell us that our language is inferior, our dances and art are vulgar and we are illiterate. Then they made institutes to teach us art. The colonial narrative was paddled by the art institutions like Mayo School and J. J. School of Arts. That is how we started following them.

“Even while creating Oriental Art, the Western painters portrayed the image of Eastern women in the same manner they deal with their own females in art.”

She is a voracious reader and history has remained her focus. While working with Raza Kazim at Sanjan Nagar Institute of Philosophy and Arts, she developed a sound understanding of the indigenous narrative of creating art, which is in sharp contrast to the Western concepts of aesthetics, being propagated by the colonial art institutes.

“While doing research on the Indian classical music, I studied the Western classical music as well. The study of Indian philosophy, Vedas and Geeta helped me a great deal in understanding our dance, music and image-making,” she relates.

The impact of her mentor, Iqbal Hussain is visible in most of her works.

“He is the only Pakistani painter who portrays women in realistic and authentic manner, without idealising or stylising them.

“I am not following him consciously, neither deliberately trying to detach myself from his influences. By the passage of time, I am gradually evolving my own painting. It will finally lead to my individual style with no influences at all,” she firmly believes.

She practiced singing and performed several times at the All Pakistan Music Conference. With three solos and numerous group shows to her credit, she has been displaying her works for more than 15 years.

Working as a whole-time painter, she enjoys the process of painting and celebrates her freedom of expression, which is not being hindered by the commissioned works or gallery concerns. Rather than making social networking to promote herself as an artist, she loves spending time with her family, music and books.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2016