Written by: Nayha Jehangir Khan
Posted on: April 10, 2023 | 
| 中文
Donia Kaiser, Sanctified
For over a century, courageous women all over the world have endured and persevered in the face of the patriarchal structuring of society that denied them the autonomy to choose for themselves. It is essential that affirmative discrimination gains momentum in all public and private sectors championing women-focused communities that can challenge restrictive social policies and dispel preconceived notions about the female experience. The third group exhibition titled “Eve's I/Eye” by Studio RM features an all-female artist lineup that includes Amra Khan, Kiran Saleem, Sana Arjumand, Talat Dabir, Saira Wasim, Mariam Arshad, Attiya Shaukat, Sahyr Sayed, Bushra Waqas Khan, Saulat Ajmal, Nusra Latif Qureshi, Sadaf Naeem and Donia Kaiser. The artists explore various aspects of the mythification of Eve as being the first female created to be the fount of the rest of humanity. The show emphasises the perspectives of female artists as authentic and paramount by creating a parallel with Eve’s gaze.
Nusra Latif Qureshi, Pehr Do Pehr-I
As the exhibition is being held in the month of Ramadan, the show has been titled “Fasting Eve”, inviting participating artists to respond to themes and subject matter related to spirituality and religion. Opening the display with “Stabat mater - The mother was standing” by Amra Khan, transports the viewer to the paradisiacal Garden Of Eden where an imagined Mother Mary is bearing witness to the crucifixion for in her hand appears to be blood. This androgynised entity also bears a wound on her rib cage, symbolising the presence of Eve within the subject. Khan here has combined layers of Catholicism symbology, where the female endurance of pain has been associated with redemption and sacrifice that are shared virtues of fasting during Ramadan. Kiran Saleem’s diptych “Dialogue”, features a wall-mounted Fasting Buddha statue that is displayed as a museum exhibit in the painting, being pensively watched by a lone female figure. In the Buddhist tradition, this particular Siddhartha's fasting period was a symbol of his commitment to enlightenment; he viewed letting go of worldly attachments and desires as a means to deeply understand truth and reality. The artist marks this interaction between Budha and the female as the present day, where the body language of the female is in control. Throughout the centuries manuscripts have documented the religious iconography of various religions and cultures, Saira Wasim references such historical miniatures by using the recognisable traditional framing, lettering and paint rendering techniques in “I do Exist” and “We Sinful Women”. Her depictions of the female form are complex, combining political, religious and social themes all into one composition.
Saira Wasim, I do Exist
Nature has been closely associated with motherhood as women had been assigned the role of the gatherer and care givers, while men were seen as hunters and labourers. This division of roles set women on a path to observe nature closely, evolving into a divine feminine association that has been called “Gaia” in Greek mythology. Sana Arjumand’s painting “Tending her garden”, captures the moment when the female protagonist has reached down into the garden and picked a flower in her hand. The theme continues in her next painting “Prosperitree”, where the crimson hues are paired with heritage motifs and a gilded background deliberately deconstructing the interaction of the female with nature, to create a heightened sense of emotive and spiritual resonance between them. Being surrounded by nature can be an overwhelming experience, as the wild and untamed foliage can mirror the unregulated chaos residing within the psychology of the mind. Imagery in Talat Dabir’s “Untitled” series of Pen & Ink on paper, has a similarly sprawling expanse of nature that resembles the nervous system of the human body. The depiction of trees begins to take on human emotions as the interweaving of roots and meshing together of the grass feels uncomfortable. The sculptural pieces in Terracotta and Fireclay have a human aspect with especially large hands that grip, rest and hold in various positions. The depictions of mangled and deformed creatures speak of the hybridity seen in nature, because of its interaction with the human race.
(L to R) Sana Arjumand Tending her garden and Talat Dabir Untitled
The role Mariam Arshad plays as an artist in her “Untitled” works, is to create imagery that is inquisitive and unapologetic. She creates tension within her subject's interaction by showing them in two very different situations. In her first painting, the female is seated with her eyes closed, while the male is standing. The artist chooses every action meticulously here, the dining sheet that knotted around the neck of each subject creating immediate hostility between them, the closing of the eyes of the female signalling disassociation. The second painting, a calmer and silenced view of the two, as they each have their backs against the other with their eyes closed. The two paintings create a contrasting internal and external state of the female, where she in order to regain control and salvage intimacy chooses to close her eyes. Artists that choose to process their pain and difficult experiences through art, share incredible insight into self-healing and self-actualization. Attiya Shaukat has lived through a car accident that injured her spine. She chose art as a medium to express her life experiences, in her painting “To Be or Not To Be”, a ghostly rendition of the artist Frida Kahlo who also had a similar accident, appears to share her bloodline with a figure that appears to be the artist herself. The artist has empowered herself through these depictions of her injuries as seen in “The wound is where the light enters”, using an x-ray of her spine as a background and hand-embroidered motifs that indicate her compassion and self-care towards herself.
Attiya Shaukat, Shine like the whole universe is yours – l
The depictions of a handkerchief being mended in Sadaf Naeem’s “Knotting I & II”, quickly escalate from a microscopic view to an expanded view of the body where a labyrinth of knotted ropes inhabit the subject. This domesticated relationship between fabric and female experience has been a visual analogy rooted in conformity and censorship, being reclaimed by artists to express their emotions and inner conflicts. The female body can be seen as a site of domestication that has multiple layers of experiences that are emotional, social, political and cultural. Sahyr Sayed uses collage techniques to create a kind of petri dish that explores these various aspects of conformity, stereotypes and femininity. The iconic works of Bushra Waqas Khan that create miniature dresses exude the timeless ballerina, which in itself is an idealised version of the female body that has to endure pain and injury when performing. The tensions caused by living according to others' expectations in order to be accepted by society, create a rift in female self-awareness. These unrealistic standards are the reason why women have to constantly create new states of equilibrium in their life, as depicted by Saulat Ajmal in “Balancing Act” and “Between Acts”, which harmonise various mark-marking brushwork and monochromatic paint techniques.
(L to R) Sadaf Naeem, Knotting II and Sahyr Sayed, Together Alone I
The visibility of women in education and the workplace has certainly increased over the decades, but it's essential that creative arts keeps giving space for females to share their narratives and stories with a wider audience. Through these concerted efforts, the cultural landscape can be shifted to begin viewing males and females as equals, so that the next generation of women can have better access to socio-economic, intellectual, cultural, and political opportunities in Pakistan.
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