ISLAMABAD: An art exhibit by My Art World titled It’s All About the Gaze, which explores how individuals deal with gazes and finding a focal point during a gaze opened at the AQS Arts and Craft Village on Friday.

The art works are by Zoya Manan, a graduate of the National College of Arts, Lahore. She is a dedicated artist who has not faltered in her studio practice, rapidly evolving a style that is both evocative and unique. Her experience with cerebral palsy has found expression in her art.

“My art allows experimenting with different media such as charcoal, oil paints, and acrylics. Painting has allowed me to identify my enthusiasm in creating narrations on canvas through human figures. I felt I have control over my imagination and over reality in my paintings, if not in real life,” she said.

This current body of works came to fruition as Zoya read The Gaze by Elif Shafak, a novel that explores the subjects of body image, the perception and reality of desirability and how individuals deal with the gazes of passersby.

She explained: “My paintings are about the way of looking and about finding a focal point at the same time. A lot of things happen at the same time but we focus on one aspect, even when we are looking. Each painting is about that dialogue.”

Strong clear patterns in each painting draw the viewer’s attention while the eyes of the figures remain the single most definitive component. The colour palette is bold, with solid strokes of different colours clearly visible.

“My work depicts rigidity, confinement, physical and mental detachment; gradually it incorporates the environment and claustrophobia of small spaces in it,” the artist said.

The exhibition was inaugurated by UK High Commissioner Thomas Drew.

“I confess I know very little about art but I do know what I like and I do like Pakistani art. As far as this exhibition is concerned the art speaks for itself. It is a really fabulous show. Zoya’s own experiences make her paintings even more powerful as she talks about channelising her own emotions over the years and that is very clear,” he said.

Zara Sajid, curator of the show, said: “The way you look at someone says a lot about who you are and what you’re feeling. Zoya’s new series magnifies the notion of ‘the gaze’ as opposed to it always being subtly nuanced and ignored.”

She added: “Zoya is an artist whose work is marked by its individuality. Unlike many young artists, her work is distinctive, immediately recognisable as Zoya’s. With each exhibition that she participates in there is also a clear concept where each art work is conveying a message, making a point.”

Rolf Holmboe, ambassador of Denmark, said: “It is an interesting exhibition; unfortunately I have not been to enough in the year I have been here but I think this is one of the more innovative and coherent styles I have seen. I’m very impressed with this collection.”

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2018