Review: Two become one? by Quddus Mirza

Pakistan's First Independent Weekly Paper

TFT CURRENT ISSUE| December 07-13, 2012 - Vol. XXIV, No. 43

Review By Quddus Mirza

Quddus Mirza attends an ambitious joint exhibition by two artists, one Pakistani and the other Australian, and asks whether such a merger, with all its socio-political connotations, is even possible

Two become one?



Duel

Who would have thought in a matter of few years or in a decade objects like video cassette, fax and (computer) floppies would disappear, become things of past, survive in memories and have a nostalgic value/function. Several other items are on the way to extinction - for instance printed newspapers and weeklies, hardback and paperback books, posted letters and CDs, etc.


	Walled City

One artist started with an image and sent it to the other, who completed it

Traditional printmaking can be included in this list of fast-vanishing products/expressions, because with the increase in computer and digital printing, conventional methods like etchings, aquatints and mezzotints are now cherished - not only for the imagery which these represent - but for their link with the tradition of image making.

Actually, techniques of art have a peculiar relationship with time. Certain methods become popular when invented but go out of fashion and practice after some years. Others are regularly and uninterruptedly used for centuries, while several are rediscovered and revived after a period of oblivion. Mediums like Fresco, tempera and encaustic wax are a few examples of things that were largely abandoned but later adopted again. Closer to home is the genre of miniature painting which, after a period of discontinuity, was resurrected more than two decade ago, and now is regarded as one of the most important art forms emerging from Pakistan.

Some works had a coherence of content and image, but a number were just exercises in mutual misunderstanding

One is not sure about the fate of printmaking, since there have been many attempts to change it due to the demands of time. Now you come across prints executed in multiple methods, with collages and different unconventional schemes of adding colours. Thus, with multiple prints in diverse experiments and chromatic exercises, today the sparse black-and-white elementary etching appears an unusual and uncommon sight. (Since in exhibitions one hardly sees a print in a single colour scheme.)

An exception is the recent two-person show 'Hybrid' by Damon Kowarsky and Atif Khan (held at Rohats 2 in Lahore). Actually it would be not correct to call it a two-person exhibition because it was a collaborative project between the two artists, who worked on singular pieces and the result was displayed bearing the signatures of both. The modus operandi for their joint venture was that one artist started with an image and sent it to the other, who completed it; in most cases without compromising or converting his own vocabulary and style. Thus on display was a body of works which had marks inscribed by two independent and established artists, recognized for their separate ideas, different art training and distinct approaches towards art making.


	Bouquet

Is this 'coalition' merely an illusion or a labour of love?

The exhibition led to certain questions: at what point does this merger take place? Is this 'coalition' merely an illusion or a labour of love? And how far can an artist "respond" to another artist's initiative? And why in the first place does a creative person wish to collaborate with another? Does he lack something, which needs to be fulfilled, or has it to do with the quest to improve and add to one's imagination, technique and visual vocabulary? All these points were addressed in one way or another in 'Hybrid', often without the two artists consciously addressing these concerns or conflicts.

An artist is never at a stage where he does not feel the need to move ahead - or away. Simultaneously, an individual is unable to create anything in isolation and without the influence, impact and sometimes the intervention of others: in the form of education, comments, criticism, encouragement and admiration.


	Post

So a creative personality is always in conversation with others, but in most cases art is one man's discourse with invisible people. In this respect the present exhibition was truly unique: two artists constructed a dialogue (on paper) in which both shaped a narrative by disjointed phrases. Looking at the display, one realizes that some works did have a coherence of content and image, but a number were exercises in mutual misunderstanding. What added to the confusion was the cultural content that both artists tried to infuse in their works. For instance, clouds lifted from miniature paintings, figures from Mughal miniatures, popular truck art and scenes of the walled city and other old settlements were popular visuals to inject into the work and construct imagery.

This kind of juxtaposition seemed as trite as the word 'juxtaposition' is in art discourse now! It revealed a desire to include all possible cultural connections in order to create a comprehensive narrative that mainly describes the situation of Pakistan. In fact the whole premise of collaboration between an artist from Pakistan and another from Australia needs to be examined, because even though the two have different nationalities, their focus was more on Pakistan instead of Australia or any other country from the First World.


	Dish

Kite

There can be many reasons for this preference, such as that both artists have worked in Lahore and the exhibition was planned to be shown here. But more than these apparent justifications, their choice of this location had a different factor. The concentration on this region was simply attractive and convenient because it provided subjects which, like newspaper articles, photographs and commentaries, could offer a content that is already expected from anyone working in these surroundings. Even though the two artists reflected on the "war on terror", alienation, identity and tradition, their method of constructing a narrative was more like forging a collage which - because of its unusualness of imagery and composition - looked impressive. Hence images like two wrestlers riding on a passenger plane, a bird perched on the shoulder of a man, Buraq flying on top of adobe houses, a drone on top of a populated area, and Mughal princess composed of buildings conveyed this frame of mind towards formulating a pictorial subject out of an already provided formal and political substance.

However, these exercises in "infusion" seem more logical in some works where the personality of a single artist disappears in favour of a composite content/visual. But even in these convincing works, one repeatedly views glimpses of adobe houses, mythological characters, historical figures, elements of popular art and fragments of miniature imagery (like borders, etc.), all compelling an outsider to consider that artists are also outsiders to their realities, because like tourists, they pick, collect and preserve what are the most 'attractive' items a place can offer.

One artist started with an image and sent it to the other, who completed it

Some works had a coherence of content and image, but a number were just exercises in mutual misunderstanding

Is this 'coalition' merely an illusion or a labour of love?

Though the two artists have different nationalities, the show's focus was more on Pakistan instead of Australia