Written by: Nimra Khan
Posted on: December 09, 2021 | 
| 中文
Wet dreams by Khadija S. Akhtar
There comes a certain age when the follies of childhood begin to take on a rosy hue and one begins to look back fondly at what one was desperate to escape. “Breathing Light”, a show that recently opened at the Koel Gallery in Karachi, brings together two sisters, Rabia S. Akhtar and Khadija S. Akhtar, whose work emerges from childhood memories. Their imagery bears traces of nostalgia and innocent wonder yet it is held together by the sagacity of lived years.
Crow Seeking Friendship I by Rabia S. Akhtar
Rabia S. Akhtar harks back to the “fallacies of childhood stories”, which depicted the animal kingdom through beloved sanctuaries and glorified the human-animal relationship. This worldview was shattered as the artist grew up and began to see the ways in which mankind has destroyed the environment, and the detrimental effects of human activities on the planet’s wildlife, which has depleted by 60% and continues to fall victim to global warming and other ecological crises at an alarming rate.
Kindred Spirits - Acrylic on canvas - 42 x 65 inches - 2021 (Khadija S. Akhtar)
The artist champions the animal kingdom by paying homage to those fantastical fables, and rebuilds that sanctuary in her works, within which these childlike depictions of creatures safely exist as mystical characters, frolicking among abundant, multi-hued foliage and flowing rivers and pristine lakes. Yet they are painted with such precision and poise that an aura of chaos is generated, which is heightened by the selectively painted surface. This places the mood somewhere in between fantasy and reality and pushes it towards a sense of surrealism. Her work carries a certain peculiar magic, appearing almost as a dreamlike reverie.
Quiet Pathways to Eternity by Rabia S. Akhtar
At the same time there are human bodies present within the scenes that almost go unnoticed, hiding behind shrubbery or morphing into beasts. The artist depicts how they infiltrate and plunder, yet their predatory displays are pacified, and they are consumed by their own ambitions, by the very thing they seek to exploit. Their identities are erased in these safe spaces that she has created, which also provide the artist with her escape. Whether or not this is an effective mechanism is up for debate.
Feels like Home by Khadija S. Akhtar
Khadija S. Akhtar’s work contains similar visual notes, in terms of color palate and imagery, yet it is much louder and more chaotic in comparison. There is movement and fluidity in the thickly applied paint that almost flows off the edges of the canvas, thus making the work come alive with a vibrancy. Where Rabia’s spaces are flattened onto a portion of the surface due to her miniature technique, which adds to the sense of make-believe, Khadija creates depth and endlessness in her spaces which lure the viewer and bring the mood closer to relived memories instead of complete fantasy.
Quiet Pathways to Eternity, 2021 (Detail) by Rabia S. Akhtar
These are derived from real spaces that exist in the artists’ recollections, yet she responds to the emotions tethered to these spaces rather instead of focusing on their direct representation. The busy compositions exude a sense of chaos, and one can sense an overabundance of personal symbolism in the animals and objects depicted. However, one also feels comfortable enough to take liberties with their interpretations. Ironically, the specificity of the imagery adds to the elusiveness of the scene. It resembles a dreamlike state, which is oddly nostalgic, that leads to a bizarre sense of déjà vu—a place you feel like you have visited yet can’t quite place.
Red Box by Khadija S. Akhtar
It is not so much physical space that she paints; rather, she depicts a mood. The crowded compositions carry the remnants of people, situations, emotions, things, and conversations, thus stitching together the fabric of a memory. These are places of comfort and happiness for the artist and exude the warmth one derives from the remembrance of happier times. “Time is transient, and your best moments come and go instantly and then linger on as memories. That is why the edges of my works are loosely painted, to show the endlessness of lingering memories,” the artist stated. She emphasizes that these memories color her outlook towards a hopeful future and acknowledges that things are not always perfect.
Chase and Silence by Rabia S. Akhtar
Despite their similarities, there is a crucial difference between the two artists. While one yearns for the sanctuary of childhood tales and attempts to recreate the enchantment that the ordinary holds to the youthful mind, to combat a much darker present reality, the other depicts the chaos within and around her in order to bring clarity through the haze and looks forward to brighter days.
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