Written by: Areej Ahmed
Posted on: September 29, 2022 | 
| 中文
love, Lilith by Rimsha Talpur
Curated by Babar Moghal, MMXII is another versatile group show hosted by Full Circle Art Gallery. It opened on the 20th of September at the Gallery located in Clifton, Karachi. The group show is titled MMXII which in Roman means 2022. Showing a different variety of artworks made this year by 15 different people with as many stories to tell. The 15 artists featured in this exhibition are Aamir Raza, Afiya Asif, Anas Abro, Alefiya Abbas Ali, Ayesha Shariff, Bilal Jabbar, Fatima Khalid, Mohammad Abdul, Nabita Zafar, Rimsha Talpur, Saad Kazi, Sheema Khan, Shazad Zar, Sidra Tul Muntaha and Syeda Kainat Jillani. This is a very diverse group of artists with some established artists such as Aamir Raza, Muhommad Abdul and Ayesha Shariff, and some fresh graduates have their work showcased at this exhibition such as Afiya Asif, Syeda Kainat Jillani and Bilal Jabbar, who have all graduated from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture.
The Gallery view
“Summer King”, made by Aamir Raza, has a very contemporary Mughal look to it with the bearded flowers. It is made using acrylics and white pointers and the detail in the work is very intricate and delicate. His artwork revolves around the fact that our society is toxic and misleading the people and the youth for their self-aggrandizement. “Last Supper” was the second piece by Aamir Raza in the exhibition. This one is oil on canvas and depicts a very different version of its namesake by Leonardo da Vinci. It has a colorful juxtaposition of shapes and figures around the table, while the portrayal of these figures is interesting and thought provoking, made in a style that is similar to Pablo Picasso's abstract paintings.
Last Supper by Aamir Raza
Ayesha Shariff, artist and teacher, explores a very unique way of portraying her art, such as combining realism with surrealism. For instance, in this show she has painted a flower in a very dreamlike, unfamiliar setting, something that you would never see in real life. Her work makes you want to just step inside it and explore the world that she has tried to create on a canvas.
The Curtain Falls by Ayesha Shariff
Anas Abro is known for focusing on the human body, and the artwork displayed is from his series “alchemic body”. He believes that the human body with its muscles, bones and gestures has a beauty of its own, and his work reflects his observations. He has confessed to also joining yoga to understand flexibility of the human body, and how much he can push his body into various postures. His work on canvas is quite mesmerizing, from the agony of the exquisitely painted portrayal of the contorted human figure in tones of gray, to the velvety feel of the silk blanket painted in teal that feels like it's leaping out of the canvas. The viewer's eye is drawn in!
Untitled by Anas Abro
Afiya Asif, a talented fresh graduate explores the different types of places or spaces that are either unseen or hidden from our busy daily routine and go unnoticed. Her way of portraying her artwork is unique; the way she has incorporated wood as tree branches, also has the feel of an installation.
Untitled by Afiya Asif
Rimsha Talpur completed her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from the Center of Excellence in Art and Design, Mehran University, Jamshoro. Her mixed media artwork titled “Love, Lilith '', in which the girl is holding a skull on her belly and lying down, could represent a Rabbinic legend, believed to be Adam's first wife who is replaced by Eve, and then it morphs into an evil spirit. Nabita Zafar explored oil markers on canvas, which had a very enthralling effect with the negative spaces and black showing from the base, and used recycled wood in one of her pieces. Fatima Khalid mostly works around the topic of human subjectivity with gouache on wasli, acrylics and watercolors, highlighting spaces from the Mughal and Persian miniatures.
Outside the East by Fatima Khalid
There were a variety of mediums explored by the artists in this exhibition. Some of the unique ones being Bilal Jabbar's usage of found objects and electronic sensors, was very interesting. He graduated from Indus Valley School (IVS), and his work revolved around kinetic and sensory experiences. Syeda Kainat Jillani’s machine and hand stitches on photo transfer image, oil on recycled wood by Nabita Zafar, and many more by these extremely talented artists were on display.
Pir jo Goth by Syeda Kainat Jillani
All these artists have their own unique style and way of speaking to their viewers. 15 different viewpoints were shown about the world, art, and life. Each of these resonate on a different chord with the viewers.
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