Works of graduating artists on display

ISLAMABAD, April 14: The dramatic and dazzling rise and development of modern art continues to change the face of the local artistic community. This is exactly what Intersection does in which young artists utilise a variety of materials and techniques and incorporate drawings, photography, sculpture, text and technology in dramatic, giant installations as well as miniature works of art. This exhibition that opened to public at the National Art Gallery Thursday evening features artworks in a variety of media that reflect the research interests of 12 graduating artists from National College of Arts, Rawalpindi, and explores issues relevant to the contemporary society. Specialising in painting, Xainab Khan`s works are satirical comment on society that valued superfluous and materialistic elements in life through her presentations around the title `Mourning Party`. The gallery, home to traditional and contemporary art and an incubator for new ideas, has dedicated two large spaces for the 50 displays that present a spectrum of the artists` most recent and ambitious projects conceived to expose the diversity and complexity of artistic process. Characters transform into different shapes in Myra Javed`s installation art that is a blend of stop motion animation and items like scissors, cups and gear etc. Childhood dreams and fantacies are captured in dozens of tiny jars by Hifza Sakina Akbar. The tiny objects – pins, drawings, earrings besides other decorations – symbolise and recall different stages and people in her life. Sakina`s miniatures are probably the most eye-catching paintings decorating the walls of Gallery 1."Keeping in view the transition between the art school and the art world, the exhibition was initiated with dialogues between the participating artists and the need for a newer framework," said the curator of the exhibition, Fatima Hussain. "Though the concerns of most of the works did not come together at a particular point, the intersection marked the starting point for possible futures," said Fatima Hussain, also from NCA. The exhibition gave the graduating students an opportunity to have their work viewed by the public. The display completely engaged the audience. "I like some works that have been pushed to the extremes of abstractions," said a young visitor. A visiting artist admired the way art works by some students engaged viewers in a `re-examination of everyday experience`. Director Visual Art, NAG, Mussarrat Nahid Imam said the works took references from their immediate surrounding, illustrated it in a convincing visual symbology that formed their personal opinion and reflected inner feelings and perceptions. "Some of them have responded to issues relevant to their everyday life and of intimate nature. They explore, ponder, understand and document their concern with objectivity," the art director explained. The display will run till May 29.