The image of a book in art has been a symbol of wisdom and philosophy to both East and West since ancient times. The book Sealed with Seven Seals was believed to hold the secrets of human destiny. In Eastern sculpture deities were depicted holding books or scrolls in their hands; a book rested on a lotus plant as a symbol of wisdom and in the Chinese classics such as I Ching, books have the power to keep away evil spirits. Looking at the exciting contemporary art of the modern world, one may still trace the links between ages and artists.

Entering the Canvas Gallery, Karachi, to view the work of the versatile sculptor Munnawar Ali Syed, one discovered the artist’s latest venture “Forgotten Stories” consisted of work involving the pages of books as his media. Continuing his theme were artworks created from carved wood and fibre glass media.

Exploring the framed paper works and compressed and carved books took the viewers on a nostalgic journey, an experience reminding one that life has perhaps been mapped out by books. Starting with nursery picture books, school books, the adventure books read for pleasure and then the years of study. Somehow in this wall-based, ornately framed series of carved and cut printed paper, memories of times past have surfaced again and again.

About his work the artist commented, “My art is a metaphor for knowledge that cannot be accessed because of what we have consciously denied ourselves — the intellectual quest. Our quest of knowledge is now more in the service of acquiring materialistic satisfaction.”

The work in show is a continuation of Syed’s sculpted “Bhook” series, as he previously explained; the word bhook is a satire on the word book meaning ‘hunger signifies the rift between body and soul’. In the exhibition, the artist displays cut and carved books, printed paper as well as intricate floral patterns on rosewood and brass and forms sculpted from fibre glass.

Munnawar Ali Syed uses the pages of books as his medium in his latest venture

One of the most active of artists, Syed has been capturing the interest of art enthusiasts since his graduation from the National College of Arts in 1999. He is a visiting faculty member at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi, as well as the visual studies department of the University of Karachi and has a workshop going with other sculptors in his own extensive studio.

Always looking for new means of communication, one remembers the wall-based graffiti built to represent Karachi in the National Exhibition held in Islamabad in 2003 and the ceramic eggs installation that featured in residencies held in the UK.

Syed has attended a Vasl workshop in Pakistan and experienced Residencies in Australia as well as in the UK, where he also collaborated on performances. He is a multi-disciplinary artist who, while exploring ongoing connections to diverse media, has in the process discovered unexpected connections between paper, wood and metal. While in the recent exhibition his work with the cut paper borders on the abstract, the playful kitten sitting on top of a stack of books is a perfect replica. One also discovers buffalos settled on books which may be explained as “a metaphor for knowledge that cannot be accessed because of what we have consciously denied ourselves — intellectual quest …”

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, January 11th, 2015

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