2011-05-01

Art fiend: Allegorical representations

Tabinda Chinoy is an artist who assembles a narrative out of subtle innuendo and disarming detail. Over the last decade of art practice, she has become a discerning observer of the tenor of her times and setting, expressed in an allegorical aesthetic vocabulary.

Showing a collection of recent work at the Canvas gallery, Karachi, the focus of her subject has widened considerably. In contrast to the elegantly decorated salons and subjects with careful coiffures that subtly express the artist's observations, for the first time she has included striking impressions of grim visages, bearded and turbaned men. These are powerful artworks.

An almost monochromatic painting is that of a weathered old man painted with a disciplined palette. Shades of grey are relieved by a pastel hued turban. This outstanding work conveys a sense of the subject matter and a new direction. In the portrayal of groups she appears to speak of the essential need of communication, an apparent equilibrium between subjects that is intriguing and open to interpretation.

With maturity the artist finds more time for her art, although in earlier years, Chinoy struggled against the expectations of her environment in order to follow her muse. After earning a diploma at the CIAC, family responsibilities were of primary importance. Yet she found time to set up her easel with veteran artist Nagi, where artists including Ahmed Parvez gathered to paint and talk about art. She was determined to work in the third dimension and with the advice of Ali Imam, gained admission for a summer course of sculpture at the Slade School of Art, London, and continued to work with local potters in Pakistan.

Chinoy's home is full of sculpted pieces in metal and in clay, and, though in the current exhibition she has eschewed sculpture, included in assemblage is a large, hand-painted glass bowl. Called upon to travel often, the artist sets up a mini studio wherever she goes. In order to carry her work home, she paints on smaller scaled surfaces, often completing an art work on two or three surfaces for easier transportation purposes. Later, these are framed as triptych or diptych art works.

As a colourist, she is equal to any of her contemporaries. One discerns an awareness of decorative elements that become symbolic metaphors in her compositions. Contrasting settings are contrived with the curves of patterns and floral designs and leaves that hold meanings in the scheme of things. In the artist's compositions the worked surface becomes an important element. The subjects peopling the canvas are not intended as realistic interpretations of actuality, her imagery is enriched by visual experience and observations that are representative of the world around her.

Over the last decade the artist has become a canny practitioner of pointedly allegorical situations, of a collective condition rather than of any particular group. Working in an impressionist style, she captures the tenor of her time where seemingly unfazed by the world outside, subjects gaze at the moon, envy the freedom of birds and are burdened with reflections of the past and the consideration of the constraints of gender. Couples that appear on the canvas often seem disassociated trying to relate one to the other but feeling more alone in the attempt.

On a wider interpretation, Chinoy's subjects are allegorical representations of a world at large, one that is growing further apart in understanding and tolerance.

No comments:

Post a Comment