ISLAMABAD: Line Green Gallery held an opening for Khadijah Azhar’s second solo show, titled ‘To You’. Curated by Alina Akbar, the exhibition showcased work made through Stacid, a technique of using acid layered with paint on stainless steel, invented by Khadijah.

Alina said: “We are so happy you have taken time to come here; it means a lot to myself and to the artist. Our aim is to share our creative energies in the city and community. This is a fairly young space, and we want it to be one where people can walk in, interact and have conversations. The idea is to make art approachable and help build a visual vocabulary for all of us.”

She added: “This show for Khadijah has come after a long time as she was conceptualising, exploring and documenting her own journey.”

The brave body of work consists of drawings, digital prints and large Stacid pieces, focusing on mental health and Khadijah’s own experience with mental health awareness and wellness.

In her monochromatic graphite drawings, she recorded her internal dialogues – conflicting, nurturing, supportive, heavy and comforting. The imagery works around the continuous exercise of conversing with oneself and de-layering the reasons and causes behind the slow deterioration and reconstruction of health. The metal paintings incorporate numerous layers of meaning in the use of motifs, colour and scale.

Khadijah incorporates symbolism, metaphors and thematic colour palettes to represent and highlight the journey of a rebirth, and a prayer for comfort. Symbols in nature and what they imbibe became a source of comfort and guidance, like dragon flies that represent change, the octopus that represents flexibility and rebirth and the hummingbird that is symbolic of eternity.

Khadijah said: “I started coming up with the concept behind this series many years ago; I was jotting down my ideas, I was making the pencil drawings and I even had the steel sheets prepared but I did not start painting until Alina pushed me to do this show.”

She added, “This series is based on mental health. I have gone through various issues over the years and for the longest time I was very reserved and I would keep my feelings and thoughts bottled inside. For years, presenting a positive image while being in internal conflict was my normal. Last year was the turning point and I focused on getting myself back.”

She talked about the spiritual journey that went in tandem with her discovery of the symbols of rebirth, describing her new body of work as a prayer in its essence, a sliver of faith and hope.

With this exhibition, she aims to generate a conversation about the relevance of mental health – something she has succeeded at as young people thronged to the opening.

Irum Zahra said: “I walked in a few minutes ago and I could feel that the pieces resonated with me. After hearing the artist talk about her work, I know I can relate with going through mental health issues, childhood traumas and difficult phases. I feel her work is a depiction of what a lot of us are going through and I believe each of us needs to have that one creative outlet through which we can keep ourselves healthy. She has done a brilliant job!”

Maham Batool said: “Even more than the art, what she has said means so much. There are so many people out there who go through so many difficulties and we can all relate. The words were so powerful that now I want to go back to look at the exhibition again.”

Published in Dawn, january 1st, 2023