Written by: Nimra Khan
Posted on: September 07, 2018 | 
| 中文
'15th August 2010' by Onaiz Taji, highlights the brutal lynching of Mughees and Muneeb Butt, two innocent boys from Sialkot, who were beaten to death by a mob on false accusations of theft
While there was a time in history when art was almost synonymous with life-like figurative sculptures and grandiose portraiture, in recent years there has been almost a rejection of the human form, with modern abstraction, minimalism, and boundary defying contemporary art, finding more indirect means of depicting human experiences. However, the past couple of years have seen an upsurge in figurative works, and artists have found new ways of exploring the body and its depictions, while still remaining relevant to the current artistic narrative. Adeel Uz Zafar agrees that figurative works have seen a revival of sorts of late, and his current curatorial project at the Sanat Gallery, “Parallel Realities,” looks at the ways in which two artists, Onaiz Taji and Haya Zaidi, make use of human forms in very unique, diverse and symbolic ways to put forth their individual concerns.
Onaiz Taji’s work is presented with interesting visuals, with a very informal appeal and a sketchbook/journal-esque appearance. His repetition of tiny illustrated figures seems to create a homogenous mass, yet upon closer inspection one can see the careful attention to detail in each figure, and their unique individual presence. The finesse of the line and the scale of the drawing seem to emerge from the artist’s miniature background, yet the style is akin to pen and ink book illustrations. The lack of color and the minimalist style, help drive focus on the volume of bodies and the little instances and intricacies within the compositions that become points of interest.
The artist seems to allude to mob mentality through these works, and the ways in which a large group of people can become an entity distinct from the individual, acquiring its own thoughts, views, ideals and conceptions of right and wrong. “15th August 2010” and “13th April 2017” show us how violent monstrous acts can become normalized and acceptable within the anonymity of a group, while their absurd reality is revealed through distance from the situation. In this way, the culprits are granted immunity for their crimes, while instigating otherwise innocent and oblivious bystanders at the peripheries of the crowd, to become part of the heinous acts.
Haya Zaidi’s works in comparison are darker and more saturated with imagery and symbolism. Her figures are closer to realism yet morphed and mutated into surrealistic forms, with a certain grotesqueness putting forth her ideas more compellingly. Commanding the medium of paint and collage on polyester film with much success, the haphazard and bizarre imagery cut and pasted from magazines gels surprisingly well with the painted surface and has a level of coherence one does not expect. The clashing images sit comfortably together even as they create discomfort in the viewer. Here, again, the artist’s miniature background only emerges in subtleties, such as the flat perspectives and stiff profiles of the figures, symbolic imagery and painting techniques. The work has a more visceral quality to it, as she allows the process to drive the narrative and the final outcome, instead of the other way around.
Zaidi’s work relates to her experience of being a woman in a patriarchal society, and the resultant politics surrounding women’s bodies and their reproductive, professional and personal freedoms. The works use female anatomy; organs and body parts; birds; jewelry and other ‘feminine’ symbols; and Islamic motifs to raise pertinent issues pertaining to a woman’s status, worth and perception in society. “Eye Candy” speaks of the male gaze and its burden placed on women, who are reduced to objects of desire even by those who presume to be “protecting” them from uncontrollable male urges. “Birth Control” is another expressive piece, dealing with the physical realities of reproductive choices and the associated emotional and mental turmoil, in terms of the consequent changes that can occur within the body.
Both artists present their own experiences of reality, yet their very different approach to the figure in terms of medium, technique, style, imagery and message becomes a testament to the latent wealth of possibilities figurative imagery still has to offer young artists today.
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