Written by: Nayha Jehangir Khan
Posted on: December 01, 2020 | 
Meditation-Intervention (Left), The Elysian Fields(Center) and The Phantasm (Right)
Claude Monet painted more than 250 water lilies paintings, he set a stage of naturalistic characters and subjects that were frozen in time. The miniature paintings by Rahim Baloch are a comprehensive anthology reminiscent of Monet’s series, depicting his personal experiences through honeybees, petals of the jasmine flowers and dandelions, and worshipers praying for peace.
Currently showcased at Satrang Gallery in Islamabad, this series is a reflection of Baloch’s own grief and loss translated into distinctive colour compositions of marine hues and sunsets. The fine artistry of his brushstrokes gradually reveals infinite colour fields and microscopic protagonists going through their own grieving processes.
The Garden Blemished
The works have Gouache paint on Wasli paper, a traditional combination for miniature artists. The rendition of brushstrokes is naturalistic with a blend of seamless transitions of teal, blue and warm tones of cadmium yellow. We feel each line of his brushstroke coming towards us like a wave of colour. The orbital geometry and organismic plasma feel otherworldly and alien. Miniature art is a meditative practice of patience and endurance. The works are meticulously hand-painted and their large mural-like scale is nothing short of a labour of love.
Transcendance
There is love, war and loss in these works, we see in the painting “A Bleak Scene” the miniature helicopters, guns and planes surround the honeybees that are perfectly hovering in midair. The threatening camouflaged elements are ready to attack and the suspense of what will happen starts to build along with the series. Where there are bleeding war flags in the artists series there are also peaceful and calm paintings such as “Longing For Peace” where a crowd of jasmine flowers floats gently underneath a honeybee drenched in illuminating white light.
As we walk through the gallery space, each painting slowly unravelling the story the artist is narrating to the viewers, the honeybees and jasmine flowers feel purposely and deliberately placed in a gathering formation. We understand that the artist is perhaps within these pictures in a kind of self-portrait surrounded by those he loves.
The Droplets
Baloch has shared that these elements are reflective of his past, losing his father and other frustrations that he has suffered at the hands of external circumstances. The series is a documentation of that time and delivers an emotional screenplay of his inner world, in order to perhaps heal our own
The planetary shape in the centre of the painting has smaller details surrounding it, like helicopters, warplanes and guns, that show an invasion on Baloch’s environment. They are dizzying, all-encompassing and it is difficult to understand why they are there. The sphere soon starts to look like a sniper scope, coming close to the honey bees, threatening to hurt them. The monumental scale of the honeycomb motif is gold reflecting with multiple sources of light carefully placed as a backdrop to the paintings.
A Bleak Scene
Artists are able to channel their intense pain and suffering into their work. Through the process of interpreting their past, confronting their present, they invent a coping mechanism so personal to them to handle their grief.
Longing for Peace
Baloch invites his viewers into a whimsical world of playful flowers and welcoming honeybees that are unaware of the larger world around them. Focusing on the details that are perhaps hidden from us in our daily lives, the artist hopes to create a unique world of his own characters through which we are able to understand the deeper psychological experiences and history of the artist.
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