KARACHI: A three-person exhibition of artworks titled Celebrating Pakistani rich heritage opened at the Majmua Art Gallery on Thursday evening. The participating artists — Naushad Alam, Sheraz and Abdul Hameed — have chosen different parts of the country as their subject and, apart from paying tribute to their invaluable architectural legacies, have tried, albeit in a subtle way, to draw the attention of art lovers to the need for preserving them.

The noticeable thing about this particular show, which will continue until July 31, is that the technique that the three painters have used signifies that they are, as they should be, conscious of their individual identity. If Naushad Alam, through his oil on canvas works, uses big strokes and colours to drive his point home, Abdul Hameed, employing the same medium, does that by mellowing things down, without losing out on the force with which both arts want to convey their message. And Sheraz does justice to the old-in-the-new era scenery by virtue of his delicate pencil work.

Naushad gives a wider view of architectural wonders such as Wazir Khan Masjid, but the angle that he uses is from within the building. This serves a smart purpose of eliminating the difference between the viewer and the viewed, which is the work of architecture itself. All quality artworks have the tendency of speaking to the viewer. In this case, art lovers see the artwork speak.

Hameed paints old city by the sea. He is fascinated not only by its buildings but also what surrounds the neighbourhood — rickshaws, people and a hint of murkiness. The murkiness could be caused by many things: rain or the fact that old city precincts have been consigned to history books, where they are not even read, only kept in dusty shelves. The artist wants the murkiness to be removed, on the condition that the romance involved with the past is not compromised.

Sheraz tries to bring two worlds together — the pre-partition past and the present — but wants the former not to lose its pristine physical existence. This is something that every single admirer of history, art and architecture wishes.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2015

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