LAHORE: An exhibition of artworks titled ‘Come Forward’ by three artists opened at the Ejaz Gallery, M M Alam Road, on Wednesday.

The three artists whose works were on display at the exhibition are Aun Raza, Sana Saeed and Eman Khan. A good number of art fanciers visited the exhibition.

About his work, Aun Raza said art was not a limited platform for any kind of effort or genre as one could merge any kind of thoughts and imaginations into a very unique subject whether it’s a painting, sculpture, miniature or any other genre. “I have never been satisfied with only one subject or specific criteria of art for myself, because art is an exploration for me, not a limitation. Canvases I paint always depict different ideas and elements because I arrange them in a surreal way to describe what I have been experiencing. My compositions are so much like a dream; one can relate any part of these to one’s present or past.”

Sana Saeed said: “Whenever we leave we always leave a mark behind, it could be a physical mark on any surface or an untangible mark floating in the memory. For me to live is to leave traces and my artistic practice revolves around these traces. Marks on walls, doors, stains on clothes, dust particles on different objects, all these surfaces are collectors of time. My work focuses on the uncertainty of life; for a moment you are present as the strongest appearance and in the second moment you are not. I talk about the “nothingness” which lies between present and past, a stage where person loses his/her sense of belonging. For me all these thoughts and experiences are traces which are left behind by people to be remembered.”

Eeman Khan said, “In a society where women are seen as things on display, ornaments pruned to perfection; I paint my women stripped down, bare, ghostly, confronting, fragile and yet baring a sense of confidence. I choose to paint my subjects when they’re most vulnerable, whether they’re staring directly into your eyes or trying to avoid your gaze. Carefully arranged in a blank mask, they give nothing away at first glance, but as you look closer, you realise their composure is forced and there is much more to be unveiled.”

STUDENTS’ VISIT: The students of a private school visited the Alhamra Art Museum on Wednesday along with their faculty and explored the art pieces and architecture of the Alhamra Cultural Complex.

Their visit was part of an initiative taken by the Lahore Arts Council (LAC) to promote live visual art practices and to generate interest of youth in the Alhamra Art Museum, which has works of many masters.

Hajra Mahmood from the museum said that LAC had started a programme in which students from different educational institutions visit and come up with their creative artworks. On Wednesday, a group of students again visited the museum and took a round of its galleries.

Ms Hajra said the purpose of their visit was to explore the visual arts. She said the students were briefed about the executed artworks in the museum. They were also given assignmentS to sit in front of an art piece which inspired them.

Most students derived their inspirations from calligraphy and oil paintings, she added.

She said in near future the students from other educational institutions would also visit the museum.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2019