LAHORE: Fourteen artists joined hands to explore ‘spiritual ecology and interdependence in the changing world’ through their artworks in an exhibition titled If You Exist, I Exist, at the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (Pilac).

It’s a collateral show being held in collaboration with the Lahore Biennale 03 happening in the provincial capital. The unifying theme of the exhibition is the influence of Buddhism and interdependence of life as its title suggests. The artists ventured into the world of Buddha and depicted his spiritual ideology in their works through different mediums, including sculpture, paintings, audio-visual and multimedia.

Moona Fazal, a teacher at the National College of Arts (NCA), has her video installation, titled Becoming & Belonging, in which a red circle of light is projected as constantly changing shape with small particles constantly move as if becoming a part of the dance of life.

About her work, she says, “In my work, I explore interdependence’s fluid and dynamic nature through symbolism of the red circle of lights. The circle, a universal symbol of wholeness and continuity, here serves as a living, breathing entity, its form constantly reshapes as particles within it move and flow in the endless dance. The movement represents Buddha’s teaching that all things arise about one another, forming a network of connections that bind existence together.”

The work shows the changing impermanence nature of life which is changing continuously as only change is constant in the universal scheme of things. The artist’s use of red light gives out warmth and a soothing effect but the interplay of particles and the circle of light refers to the environmental challenges that the world is grappling with, especially this region of South Asia.

Sumbul Natalia has a mixed media installation, titled You Existed, So I Could Exist. She has used gold lead and mirrors in traditional clay dishes still used in kitchens of rural Punjab.

“My work represents the harmonious co-existence of diverse thoughts, religious beliefs and cultures through the lense of interdependence. The central element of my installation is Kurnali—a clay dish traditionally used to offer water to birds in South Asia. This vessel grounded in the region’s history becomes a metaphor for nurturing the soul and sustaining life,” the artist says.

In the pots, a head of Buddha has been placed along with the chant of Om. Now this is interesting. Om is common, which is common in the religions that originated in our region, the ancient India that includes the areas which makes Pakistan now. Om is equally important in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism and, with some deviation, Sikhism too. In Buddhism the letters that form Om represent the impure body, speech and mind of an unenlightened practitioner as well as the pure exalted body, speech and mind of enlightened practitioner. In Hinduism, it represents the universe and ultimate reality while in Jainism too, it’s an important prayer.

To Sumbul, Om, as used by her and written in Nastaliq script in her artwork, represents a bridge between past and present.

Sarmed Cheema has a video installation that shows human relationships, coming together and growing apart. The changing nature of relationship has been shown through the dance of hands that symbolize the romantic connection and ultimate break-up. The artwork, titled Threads of Existence, resonates Buddha’s philosophy of taking grief as a part of experience in the wholeness of life and embracing it.

Rabiya Saleem has put on display her six artworks in mixed medium, gouache, tea stain and gold leaf on handmade paper. Her work is an extension of her Gandhara residency, translating semiotics of the past into contemporary visual language.

The other artists who are a part of the exhibition are Amina Cheema, Sumera Jawad, Anila Zulfiqar, Fariha Rashid, Hira Gul, Dr Khaliqur Rehman, Nadeem Alam, Nadia Zafar, Suffah Naeem and Usman Rana.

The exhibition, curated by former chairperson of the PU College of Art and Design Sumera Jawad, would continue till Oct 20.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2024