Written by: Shameen Arshad
Posted on: October 3, 2022 | 
| 中文
Transitional Spaces I by Suleman Aqeel Khilji
It is certainly true that the sign of good art is when it seems effortless. To make the creative process that often consists of tedious labour and intense contemplation, look easy and natural is a mark of an ingenious mind. The show Conquering the White Space at Khaas Contemporary consists of such creatives.
The show, as the exhibition title suggests, is centred on showing off the artists’ skill and technical ability as they, in their own way, master the act of visual storytelling. The show that opened to the public on the 27th of September, brought many big names to the capital, in other words, artists that have shown their expertise in their field over time by creating artworks that embody a sense of self-possession and ease with their discipline. The works of Ahmed Ali Manganhar, Imran Channa, Rakhshanda Atwar, Salima Hashmi, Rabeya Jalil, Hammad Gillani, Aasim Akhtar and Suleman Aqeel Khilji adorned the gallery walls.
The installation view
The works exude self-assurance, faith in one’s skill and conceptual clarity that comes with experience. The artists’ work is free of additional superfluous details, often put to add a flashiness and glitz to increase commercial viability. They were a spectacle in of itself, invalidating any need for pomp and circumstance.
Aasim Akhtar, a well-known curator and critic in the art world, assumed yet another role, that of a skilled artist with his graphite drawings of seemingly unearthly creatures. One could assume, due to the artist’s prolific reading, that the work might have been inspired by mythology or folklore where one usually comes across hybrid creatures that are half man, half animal. The lack of a backdrop leaves room for imagination, adding a level of mystery and intrigue. The graphite drawings on first sight seem like dry point prints, showing the level of control that Akhtar has on the medium, and his ability to manipulate graphite to create thin crisp lines.
Memories Series by Imran Channa
Similarly, Imran Channa, creates enigmatic images. The frenzied wavy lines that are a staple of Channa’s drawings, not only present a literal movement but also hint at a volatile state of mind. The emotive quality of his lines perhaps depicts emotional turmoil of the amorphous figures, part of his composition or of the artist himself as he revisits his memories. Channa’s hazy images capture fleeting moments using his indistinctiveness and enrapturing line quality.
Transition is also seen in Ahmed Ali Manganhar’s works. Manganhar’s Labada shows an oscillation between two moments in time, where one is not quite sure whether one is moving from the past to the present or vice versa. Unlike Channa, who achieved this within one visual, Manganhar decided to depict it via two copies of the same image, but in different states of the painting process. Manganhar’s quick bold brush strokes also reveals an urgency and tenacity.
Laabada (diptych) by Ahmed Ali Manganhar
Suleman Khilji’s Transitional Space I /II as the name suggests, also captures the temporality of spaces and times. The transition is evident via Khilji’s characters that move out of the vortex with swirling debris that they were apparently part of, into the silent deep blue surrounding it. Thus, these alternatives ways of depicting a similar idea creates great interest for the viewer who sees the possibilities within the creative process.
Letters by Rabeya Jalil
Hammad Gillani, the youngest of the lot fit right into the group of senior artists with his carefully crafted, yet seemingly candid illustrations. Gillani captures the complexity, and the versatility of the line segment. Gillani’s images are a marriage of opposites. His seemingly impulsive images are built through an age-old labour intensive and disciplined technique of “Bardakht”. Rabeya Jalil also creates childlike imagery; pieces that would make ignoramuses say, “I can make that”, without realizing how difficult it is to recreate the spontaneity and inhibition of childlike marks and imagination. Jalil’s work also adds colour to a largely monochromatic display. Rakhshanda Atwar’s drawings, like doodles, are spontaneous and uninhibited. The artist’s work can be read like a Rorschach test, for each one sees what he wants to according to his/ her understanding.
Untitled IV by Rakhshanda Atwar
Salima Hashmi’s “ Strange Times”, an abstract piece, takes one back to the old European Masters. The piece possessed all the mystery, sensitivity and harmony required of an abstract piece. Hashmi’s varied mediums, so seamlessly blended, cannot be deciphered from one another on closer inspection. The work shows a range of mark making, embodying different sentiments, revealing the intrigue and playfulness that is part of the creative process.
Strange Times by Salima Hashmi
The show is open to the public till the 11th of October 2022.
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