LAHORE:A group exhibition called Next, showcasing the works of six young visual artists, is underway at the O Art Gallery and is set to continue till July 21.

Abdul Aziz, a fresh graduate of National College of Arts, says he has used his own body as a medium for his work in mix media to make impressions on paper, treated with Siah Qalam and Neem Rang.

Aziz adds that through this technique, he has achieved a tactile texture of the body with distorted forms formed in the feeling of ambiguity. I see certain elements of fear and suffering in my work and when I stand in front of it, I feel a rush of memories hitting me like waves.

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One of the artists, Noorul Ain, reveals she usually finds it hard to explain her artwork in limited words. It has been developed and influenced over time through innumerable interactions with nature, places and people at different stages of my life, particularly during my educational career.

I think studying and practicing arts academically has made me a keen and sensitive observer. I take inspiration from many scenarios and it comes to me from the least expected places.

Noorul Ain adds she is always on the lookout for inspiration and revelations from her own surroundings drive her artistic works. Art has influenced me personally on a very deep level. I now look at and engage with my surroundings differently.

Another artist Haya Zaidis practice involves making works which indirectly question the patriarchal nature of society. For Haya, her work is a commentary on elements such as the universal capitalistic rituals, blind conformity tied to a geographical code of conduct and superiority, selfishness and righteousness present in human nature. She says her inspirational process began by questioning everything.

I was struck by various questions on right and wrong, fair and unjust, faith and fact, personal choice and forceful enforcement, religion and control, minimum wage and modern slavery. These drove my thinking process, she said. Since then, Ive been on a quest to surprise viewers and disturb them at the same time.

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On the other hand, artist Kiran Waseems work is about glimpses of long busy routes while traveling. The images portrayed in her work are often hazy, depicting the chaotic yet attractive city life. Kiran says that she took inspiration from busy lives as well as long routes and distances which are, somehow, so much more relatable.

Travelling has always been the turning point for my subject matter. Like a small moment of joy, which can only be felt and not described in words, has been my inspiration, she said. According to Kiran, her concern is to look at the personal human journey from one place to another in the form of impressions, where everything is temporary and the present does not exist.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2017.

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Young visual artists depict reality, nature - The Express Tribune