Written by: Nayha Jehangir Khan
Posted on: February 22, 2022 | 
| 中文
The installation view of Ejaz Art Gallery, Lahore
The three painters being showcased at Ejaz Art Gallery in Lahore, at the exhibition titled ‘Pandora’s Box,’ are Farrukh Shahab, Samra Cheema and Hamama Bushra. Their techniques and visualizations are distinctly different from each other creating contrasting and complex realities within the gallery space. The form and color exploration are vibrant, passionate and emotive using abstraction, perspective and figuration with a focus on portraiture. The materiality of paint is the methodology of each artist to create recurring compartmentalization of space, interesting sections of color fields, immediate brush strokes, drawing and interesting mark-making. By using immediate and calculated mark marking techniques, they create a push and pull within the composition
Samra Cheema’s abstract forms are created through precisely handcrafted laying down of thick paint that resembles coral reef like protrusions rising out of the canvas. In works like “Consling” and “Love Moon”, we imagine there to be two figures in a moment of embrace. There is fantasy and mystery in her colorful forms that appear to be moving as if seen through submerged water. In contrast to Cheema’s marine life forms, Farrukh Shahab’s rigid totem-esque figures have roughly divided sections cutting through the figures. In this “Untitled” series, there are singular and multiple figures paired with a host of various exotic birds. The birds begin to morph into the figure, with heads switching and merging where the viewer is unable to differentiate between the animal and human form. These figures have strange deathly elongated and distorted hands and feet set in the foreground of each painting. Hamama Bushra subtly embeds moments of abstraction within the outlines of her figures, the deliberate foreshortening and exaggeration of arms, waist and legs highlight the body language and posture of her female protagonists.
Untitled by Farrukh Shahab
The figure is the focal point of each painting, the artists meticulously cover their entire canvas keeping the portrait as the central theme. The environment is closing in on the figure morphing and twisting their body and face. As the viewer’s eye travels along with the canvases, their individualized distortions become prominent features of each painting. The emotional application of paint is visible in Shahab’s rooster series, the rushed dry brush, and rough rubbing of paint emote a spectrum of psychological terrains. Are these figures in combat with their animalistic instincts, or are they unable to separate themselves from opposing spirits within themselves. The dissociative reality of Shahab’s figures is unsettling, and the viewer is unable to look away from the frenzy and madness within each painting. The gaze of the figure is vacant and staring back at the viewer, pushing away from the painting yet the bright fun primary colors disarm and draw us into the picture. The portraits begin to resemble the bird faces populating the series, suddenly the chickens, ducks and peacocks dominate over the male figures.
A Visitor by Hamama Bushra
Bushra Hamama’s female subjects at first glance can be read as introverted, solitary figures surrounded by personal belongings carefully curated at the center of their interior spaces. Two paintings depict women immersed in reading with a full cup of Chai resting next to them with felines lazily snuggling close to them. In her other paintings, the women are lounging on their sofa engulfed in patterns and colors. Hamama’s subjects are unaware of the viewer, living their life without interruption from the outside world. Their assertive portrayal is reinforced by the multitude of patterns, motifs, piles of books both stacked and piled close to them. The attention to detail on creating each environment activates their own sense of self. The portrait is layered with titles of books, gestures and painted skin using henna designs. The dupatta loosely hanging over their body signals comfort and relaxation with which they exist within the individualized lounges. The variety of multilingual literature, gold jewellery, styles of clothing, the multidirectional drapery, fun and playful upholstery, detailing of the floor carpeting and even the scale of the furniture designs, all come together to complete the personality of the portrait.
The environment in each of the artist's works has a sense of weight and light that creates tension and drama between the painting techniques and the drawing of the figure. The glowing radiance found in Samra’s paintings allows the viewer to deeply gaze into the painting revealing the hidden facial features and anatomy of the portrait. The gloomy green hues are interrupted by the striking textures of coarse and rugged paint that the artist applies using her fingers. The quieter moments of the painting are developed by echoing muted shades behind the 3D forms creating a vast expanse of an ultramarine blue and a swaying green algae field. The hints of violet, yellow, red and white paint catch the eye of the viewer that constantly revisits each form as it changes with every glance. The resemblance to overgrown foliage, moss and other organic matter comes to mind as the artist uses depth and scale to create romantic portraits. The artist dives deeply into the psychological realm by using forms outside traditional representation and natural skin, replacing them with surfaces that feel eroded, corrosive and porous. She invites the viewer into a dialogue where the portrait and figures are posed to look human but their rendering is locked into an imaginative state of being.
Love Moon by Samra Cheema
Bushra created her series of paintings using traditional illustrative drawing techniques that she carefully curated to create a singular moment in time. Farrukh has a more immediate approach to painting with quick gestural strokes, while Samra chose to bend reality by pushing beyond color and form in order to complete the painting in the mind of the viewer. “Pandora's Box'' holds multiple methodologies that are connected through their exploration of the human condition and emotions. The painters are able to manipulate optical illusions to create flow and weight in their compositions. There is a novella of narratives that can be read in each of the artworks dictated by each of the artist's personal interests, experiences and philosophies.
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