Written by: Sana Shahid
Posted on: September 14, 2023 | 
| 中文
Fortitude by Roha Ahmed and The installation at Line Green Gallery
Line Green is a visual art space that caters to all kinds of mediums, artists, and audiences. Art is in dire need of such spaces that don’t discriminate between preferred mediums and artists over others. It is a place that believes in the true potential of an art space, while providing a platform to all, where art is given due respect for what it is without being asked to tone it down and that values the freedom of expression and encourages artists to showcase the true version of themselves.
The Good Order, I Think, is an exhibition that recently opened at Line Green on the 9th of September in Islamabad. It is a show that celebrates diversity by putting together multiple artists belonging to different genres of art.
Entangled Reflections bougainvillea in my mind by Sameen Qamar
‘It’s the idea of this order that accumulated these eight forces, eight instincts, eight experiments for this sensorial exhibition’, says Alina Akbar, the Curator and Director of the Visual Art Space. The show is an amalgamation of installations, sculptures, interactivity and live performances, well executed by the artists who have shown immense talent and creativity.
Nazir Ahmed, a sculptor lit up the show with a live performance where he chiseled out a mold to display the cast (actual artwork) that he wanted the public to see. The medium that he used for the mold was Plaster of Paris, which is not only tricky to work with but also very delicate, with the cast sometimes getting nipped or destroyed while chiseling. Ahmed made sure this didn’t happen and he demonstrated firm chiseling skills, which left people awestruck at the opening where he unveiled the layers of the mold bit by bit and slowly revealed his masterpiece. The artist created a conceptual walkthrough of the process that many artists have to go through to create something. However, the cast has imagery that emphasizes the lack of purity and over-reliance on everything man-made to the point where it’s hard to differentiate between what is natural and what is manufactured, and how everything has become diluted while losing its organic aspect. The idea of chiseling is inspired by archaeologists who go through similar processes to excavate fossils from the past. ‘Footprint Size’, is an imagined fossil of the future that shows the sad reality of our current times, depicting a crooked spine made out of contemporary tools like scissors. It can also be a comment on the reality of how people are constantly affiliated with digital media by sitting all day long while their spines are becoming somewhat crooked because of the lack of physical exercise.
Footprint by Nazir Ahmed
Mahnoor Ali Shah displayed an interactive video installation titled, ’Awaz’. It’s interesting to see how the viewer has become the protagonist of the artwork by reflecting in the video. Shah comments particularly on the unheard voices of women. She further enhances this idea of unheard voices by how the people standing in front of the installation end up becoming part of the visual equalizer playing on the projector. It would be fascinating to see how the artist manages to incorporate men into her narrative as they can also easily become part of her installation.
An emerging talent, Ahsen Waheed works on the nature of ‘self’ and ‘identity’. His installation consists of multiple mirrors displayed together in a corner, inspiring people to look at themselves through multiple angles, creating a rather 3-dimensional space paired with Sufi chants in the background. “The process of making a self, starts by seeing and being seen”, quoted Waheed. His art compels people to acknowledge their inner dark sides by sitting in that corner with the help of some candles, to burn the ugly truths about themselves by writing on a piece of paper placed next to the candles. The constant gaze while looking at a reflection of yourself, triggers some discomforting feelings and creates a disturbing aura for some while others found it to have meditative qualities. Waheed also gave a live performance for he would sit in the same spot and chant some self-written poetry loudly.
Mohsin Ur Rehman Baig works on the idea of body shaming that triggers some insecurities in oneself. He makes a comment on the society where one is always criticized for being too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short and so forth. Baig’s artworks depicts a healing process of the artist that focuses on his insecurities and takes him on a journey of acceptance. The images demonstrate aggressive scribbling on translucent paper, with a ballpoint pen that deeply engraves the surface, which becomes embossed on the other side of the paper. This can be a metaphor for the emotional scars that Baig has endured all his life. Along with the visuals, the artists recorded some poetic audio, loud enough to cause discomfort among the audience, in an attempt to effectively make them feel how overwhelming societal noises are.
Khamosh Tasveeron main shor karti lakeerain by Mohsin Ur Rehman Baig
A printmaker, Roha Ahmed, explores the flexible qualities of acrylic sheets when exposed to heat. Ahmed allows the medium to bend into rather curvy forms that challenge the otherwise flat nature of it. Zeha Imran also experimented with mediums like oil and acrylic paints, dripping over fish wire to create an abstract landscape installation. Two of the artists, Sameen Qamar and Esha Rashid, emphasized their personal struggles. Qamar highlights the burdens that an overthinker has to face, while Rashid talks about her challenging relationship with food. Art became not just self-expression but a medium for them to face the challenges in their lives.
The Aerosol by Zeha Imran
This is a show that overwhelms the audience with how certain surroundings and personal experiences can have a lasting impact on individuals. It’s a wake-up call for society to give individuals more freedom to develop and evolve.
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Video message by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed on Black Day of Indian Occupation of Kashmir, 27 October 1947, when Indian military troops forcibly occupied Kashmir illegally, claiming a fraudulent ‘Instrument of Accession’ which never existed as documented by eminent British historian Alastair Lamb! Kashmir & Palestine are examples of illegal occupation & continued Resistance to Repression! There are so many commonalities in Kashmir & Palestine: both under brutal military occupation of foreign powers, both are facing an indigenous, popular, spontaneous & widespread Resistance & Uprising, both are in violation of UN Resolutions which haven’t been implemented, both are witnessing an attempted change in the demographic balance, both are facing the use of rape as a weapon of war, both are testimony to double-standards & hypocrisy of Western powers on human rights & fundamental rights, and both conflicts have an element of racism and Islamophobia, while enduring peace, security and stability will remain elusive in both regions, South Asia & Middle East, until these issues are resolved in accordance with popular aspirations.
