An absolute definition of art is impossible to achieve but popular discussions on art almost invariably centre on its two principle tasks, self-expression and self-discovery; a process motivated by an insatiable appetite to express one’s self through imitating or re-creating the world which aims to understand and interpret subjective experience translated into objects and the means of these art objects stem solely from the subjective desire of the artist. Hence, in the most simplified sense, art activity is expressions and statements of personal opinions or feelings with the purpose of stimulating the viewer’s imagination. And it is this pleasure of reasoning provoked in the viewer that determines the merit of the work. But because of the subjective nature of taste, one cannot speak negatively of an artistic creation, only of one's inability to find artistic merit. But wouldn’t we be surrounded by mediocrity without judgments?
As I sit here, putting together my thoughts about a recent show at rohtas 2, Beneah the Surface, I try to deal with my lack of responsiveness to most of the works in the show and brood over the unsettling debates about looking and pleasure and beauty and judgements. There certainly needs to be a balance between the creative endeavour of the artist and the creative projection of emotion and feeling on the part of the viewer, which Barthe refers to as the punctum. He writes, “the punctum is what I add to the photo and which nonetheless is there already” (Heron, 1996, pg 398).
This two day preview of works by Faseeh Saleem and Mohsin Shafi, is being taken to Sweden in October, where Saleem is pursuing his MFA in textile design. He is a recent graduate of BNU, where as, Shafi did his Bachelors in graphic design from NCA and is currently enrolled in the MA visual arts, at NCA. Saleem’s content driven photography and Shafi’s photography driven content explores the issues of identity and its representation, reflecting their educational backgrounds in their treatment/relationship with their mediums. Both seek a self-defined identity while questioning incomplete or discontinuous identities within social domains. Shafi’s work, like the stamp it bears “Aalmi Rohani Tehreek-i-Anjuman-i-Sarfarooshan-i-Islam” is concerned with identity in an unspecific manner and approaches the subject of prescribed moral codes and contemporary issues like fundamentalism and extremism because of Pakistan’s primary associations with stereotypes and sensational news. This over generalized approach to ‘identity’ (spiritual, religious, gendered, national e.t.c) is further layered with highly personal/self-referential statements in the form of titles and despite being subjected to similar socio-political issues, one struggles to empathize with the subject. I also wonder about the importance of the text printed on the images, which on one hand is so small that hardly readable, becoming a textured background for the image, while on the other hand its continuous repetition highlights its significance. This text, probably xeroxed from an existing flyer/advertisement might have worked better if used in its original form, maintaining the truth of the material while questioning the role of this medium to rally conflict and explore the possibility for democratic change. Although Shafi’s work provides the right clues for an accurate interpretation of the work, but ‘to express’ and ‘to express well’ are not the same.
Shafi, Mohsin, print on archival paper.
Saleem on the other hand, is asking the viewer to consider identity particularly in relation to gender and culture. His work, “Everyone carries a shadow”, is a series of six 3.5”x5” black and white photographs printed on canvas, the size and its enclosed (box like) framing both suggest an intimacy of subject matter. In it is displayed, his hairy male belly open to spectatorial gaze. The camera focuses closely on the immediate area around his navel as his left hand carefully rests in the corner of the frame with hair embroidered onto the image to make it appear more tangible. The choice of the image, lack of color, composition and the hair sticking out of the image makes me think of Vito Acconci’s silent film, “Openings” from the 70s. Here, as the camera frames Acconci's stomach in close up, he painstakingly pulls out each hair from his belly, eventually displaying his navel to transgress his masculinity and assigning him to vulnerability that is usually aligned with feminity or to simply become gender neutral. It is interesting to note that the medium of embroidery in Saleem’s work also questions these gendered roles in a similar manner, as embroidery is a medium deemed appropriate for women.
Both Saleem and Shafi, like Acconci are the maker, the subject and the object of their work, shifting the focus between the artist’s body as a site from that of a metaphor, in a back and forth momentum for the representation of the self. Using his body as a metaphor on which cultural and personal references are threaded, Saleem seems to be suggesting that the body communicates as much or as little as the personal and public notions on this issue. Through this work, he indulges himself in a self-scrutiny for the sake of authenticating experience and existence as a means towards self awareness in an attempt to liberate the self from traditionally bound situations. This very image is multiplied a number of times and juxtaposed on a 10”x14” canvas titled “Personality in Shadow”, which results in a simultaneous recognition and misrecognition with the image, mirroring the relationship between
identity and its representation.
It is quite heart breaking when a single image has so much potential and it brings you this far only to leave you stranded on a road that leads no where. There seems to be an unsettling discrepancy between limits of the content and the medium and the work lacked a bit of a climax, “like pushing the work so you find yourself in a territory beyond the one you know” (Etchells, 1999, 52).
- Etchells, Tim. Certain Fragments, Routledge, 1999, London.
- Heron, Liz. Illuminations: women writing on photography from the 1850s to the present, Liz Heron & Val Williams, 1996, London.
As I sit here, putting together my thoughts about a recent show at rohtas 2, Beneah the Surface, I try to deal with my lack of responsiveness to most of the works in the show and brood over the unsettling debates about looking and pleasure and beauty and judgements. There certainly needs to be a balance between the creative endeavour of the artist and the creative projection of emotion and feeling on the part of the viewer, which Barthe refers to as the punctum. He writes, “the punctum is what I add to the photo and which nonetheless is there already” (Heron, 1996, pg 398).
This two day preview of works by Faseeh Saleem and Mohsin Shafi, is being taken to Sweden in October, where Saleem is pursuing his MFA in textile design. He is a recent graduate of BNU, where as, Shafi did his Bachelors in graphic design from NCA and is currently enrolled in the MA visual arts, at NCA. Saleem’s content driven photography and Shafi’s photography driven content explores the issues of identity and its representation, reflecting their educational backgrounds in their treatment/relationship with their mediums. Both seek a self-defined identity while questioning incomplete or discontinuous identities within social domains. Shafi’s work, like the stamp it bears “Aalmi Rohani Tehreek-i-Anjuman-i-Sarfarooshan-i-Islam” is concerned with identity in an unspecific manner and approaches the subject of prescribed moral codes and contemporary issues like fundamentalism and extremism because of Pakistan’s primary associations with stereotypes and sensational news. This over generalized approach to ‘identity’ (spiritual, religious, gendered, national e.t.c) is further layered with highly personal/self-referential statements in the form of titles and despite being subjected to similar socio-political issues, one struggles to empathize with the subject. I also wonder about the importance of the text printed on the images, which on one hand is so small that hardly readable, becoming a textured background for the image, while on the other hand its continuous repetition highlights its significance. This text, probably xeroxed from an existing flyer/advertisement might have worked better if used in its original form, maintaining the truth of the material while questioning the role of this medium to rally conflict and explore the possibility for democratic change. Although Shafi’s work provides the right clues for an accurate interpretation of the work, but ‘to express’ and ‘to express well’ are not the same.
Saleem on the other hand, is asking the viewer to consider identity particularly in relation to gender and culture. His work, “Everyone carries a shadow”, is a series of six 3.5”x5” black and white photographs printed on canvas, the size and its enclosed (box like) framing both suggest an intimacy of subject matter. In it is displayed, his hairy male belly open to spectatorial gaze. The camera focuses closely on the immediate area around his navel as his left hand carefully rests in the corner of the frame with hair embroidered onto the image to make it appear more tangible. The choice of the image, lack of color, composition and the hair sticking out of the image makes me think of Vito Acconci’s silent film, “Openings” from the 70s. Here, as the camera frames Acconci's stomach in close up, he painstakingly pulls out each hair from his belly, eventually displaying his navel to transgress his masculinity and assigning him to vulnerability that is usually aligned with feminity or to simply become gender neutral. It is interesting to note that the medium of embroidery in Saleem’s work also questions these gendered roles in a similar manner, as embroidery is a medium deemed appropriate for women.
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| Saleem, Faseeh, Everyone Carries a Shadow, digital print on canvas |
Both Saleem and Shafi, like Acconci are the maker, the subject and the object of their work, shifting the focus between the artist’s body as a site from that of a metaphor, in a back and forth momentum for the representation of the self. Using his body as a metaphor on which cultural and personal references are threaded, Saleem seems to be suggesting that the body communicates as much or as little as the personal and public notions on this issue. Through this work, he indulges himself in a self-scrutiny for the sake of authenticating experience and existence as a means towards self awareness in an attempt to liberate the self from traditionally bound situations. This very image is multiplied a number of times and juxtaposed on a 10”x14” canvas titled “Personality in Shadow”, which results in a simultaneous recognition and misrecognition with the image, mirroring the relationship between
identity and its representation.
 |
| Acconci, Vito. Openings, 1970, 14 min, b&w, silent, Super 8mm film on video |
It is quite heart breaking when a single image has so much potential and it brings you this far only to leave you stranded on a road that leads no where. There seems to be an unsettling discrepancy between limits of the content and the medium and the work lacked a bit of a climax, “like pushing the work so you find yourself in a territory beyond the one you know” (Etchells, 1999, 52).
- Etchells, Tim. Certain Fragments, Routledge, 1999, London.
- Heron, Liz. Illuminations: women writing on photography from the 1850s to the present, Liz Heron & Val Williams, 1996, London.
