Women’s impressions about women

NADEEM ZUBERI

WEEKEND MAGAZINE: A unique collection of paintings by five celebrated female artists – Nahid Raza, Tabinda Chinoy, Shakira Masood, Sayeeda Habib and Fariya Zaeem exhibited at Grandeur Art Gallery. Each of the artists is famous and admired for her work in art world.

In the recent exhibition every single artist showed her talent in an innovative way in diverse mediums – ranging from oil, acrylic, charcoal, pastel graphite, water colour, ink wash, mixed medium and digital artwork. The group show titled “Women’s Week Special”, is a prelude to the show planned to commemorate the International Womens Day next year.

All female artists brought together a versatile collection of their works presenting each artist’s individual style. One finds signs of social awareness in the artworks on display. The paintings are meaningful and relevant to the times and its problems.

The paintings render both women’s sufferings and women’s high status in our society. The faces and figures of women describes every role of women which she plays during her lifetime. Bright images emerging on canvases in an immense variety. Nahid Raza has an excellent command on design and colour. This women series featured four of her paintings, including ‘Buraq’, ‘Hidden Faces’, ‘Reflection’ and ‘Birds’, which captures a mystical projection of women’s expression and mood.

Tabinda Chinoy’s series of female faces include six paintings with the titles – ‘Serenity’, ‘Sisters in Harmony’, ‘Through the Window’, ‘Retrospection’, ‘Solitude’, ‘Dreaming of a Better World’. The titles reveal her knowledge about the subjects related to women. Her artistic manifestation of women in dignified expressions indicates her talent. Sayeeda Habib’s sketches, drawings and digital artworks supports women’s soft image and expose the delicacy and love related to women.

Her works such as ‘Mariums Flower’ and ‘The Maize’ speak such tender. Shakira Masood conveys a message of gender equality through her political art. Her views on feminism can be judged by the titles of her paintings – ‘So Confused’, ‘Hadood’, ‘Me and My Siblings’, ‘Pakistani Women’.

Fariya Zaeem’s abstract powerful and bright water colours paintings depict her vibrant and positive mood. She skilfully handles and defines women issues on her large canvases in bold and beautiful colours. Her paintings give a strong message of hope and good times ahead entitled ‘Back to Source of Life’, ‘One Day in Spring’, ‘Opening’, ‘Love Arabesque’.

A total of 29 paintings are on display which are creative and skilfully executed and therefore are appealing to the viewer. The paintings shares the moments of sorrow and joy trying to resolve issues thus challenging social taboos by breaking barriers and limits which enslave them for years. The themes vary from painting to painting as each female artist expresses her own emotions regarding certain issues.

The exhibition provides a way to vent their anger on various injustices impose on them from the society, and communicating with the outer world with respect to women problems. It shows women’s feelings for other women – as feelings are the guidelines to help us understand both our own emotions and actions and also those of other people around.

The paintings seem the best way to explain the perceptions, self-awareness and exploration by women. The life of a woman is divided into various stages. She passes through different emotions and feelings during her lifetime and wants to express her thoughts and ideas too. These women artists became the voice of those unheard women, thus exploring the journey of woman’s life through paintings, based on the conditions and factors of the society.

The exhibited artworks serve as an example and encourage women to achieve their goals and aims in life. These female artists use their art to bring forth women’s genuine issues keeping their commitment towards the women of our community and in a manner tried to contribute their share in society. Neshmia Ahmad, curator of the gallery said, “The spirit of the exhibition is the passion for discovery and originality in style. The artists managed to bring different moods and situations of women to life.”
Source: Business Recorder
Date:12/19/2009