TRUTH ABOUT PERCEPTION:

“...though we cannot know these objects as things in themselves, we must yet be in a position at least to think them as things in themselves; otherwise we should be landed in the absurd conclusion that there can be appearance without anything that appears.”

—   Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason.

Our relationship with both physical and abstract phenomena, the ‘existence of nature’ in contrast with ‘the perception of this existence’, has been a subject of inquiry for philosophers and artists alike. Without going on a wild goose chase regarding such questions, in my humble opinion, beyond perception most concepts do not even matter, that is to say, there is no relationship between objective and subjective reality, since all reality is subjective by definition and vice versa. And that is where the essence of Art lies, as Ayn Rand writes (explaining her philosophy of Objectivism in the context of Art), “as a selective re-creation of reality according to an artist's metaphysical value-judgments". This re-shaping of non-empirical ideas into physical form is the curatorial foundation of SCORE, exhibiting works by Ehsan Ul Haque, Imran Ahmed, Iqra Tanveer and Sajjad Ahmed, at Drawing Room Art Gallery, Lahore, from October 12 – 22, 2011.

In a country like ours, each one of us is so busy wheel-running like laboratory rats, expending so much effort on issues of political instability, shortage of electricity, gas and petrol, extremism, terrorism, e.t.c, that even the Art exhibitions barely get a chance to look beyond the rim of the wheel - such an exhibition then, is a moment of relief. But that does not imply that the work is not political in nature, how can it not be when society itself is the physical aspect of the world we inhabit. 

Ehasan ul Haque, Physical Existence of Belief.

Ehasan ul Haque’s Physical Existence of Belief, a 4’ x 4’, concrete cube, is a kaaba of personal realities or perhaps the monolithic power of the authorities. It defines man's nature and the nature of the world in which he lives, recalling the old axiom, if we truly believe a lie it might as well be the truth for the impact it has. The construction of beliefs that rests in the realm of non-physical is made into a physical object in concrete, a medium that is not simply experienced phenomenologically but is associated with social references, particularly of ruins and construction sites.

Imran Ahmad, Hypothalamus

Naan (flat breads) is the medium and the subject of Imran Ahmad’s Hypothalamus: region of brain controlling hunger, thirst and body temp, addressing the physiological needs for human survival. These 11 or 12 kinds of naans, that are made from different ingredients, instantly bring to my mind the image of a menu card of any restaurant, a list accompanied by their prices and it makes one wonder about needs measured against luxuries. The piece (to me) is a bit nervous or unconvincing, so to speak. This literal translation takes a rather bland approach towards parody, perhaps just a little bit of irony could have made these naans extraordinary instead.

Sajjad Ahmed, Play Field.         Iqra Tanveer, Paradise of Paradox 

 Where as, the formal aspects of Iqra Tanveer and Sajjad Ahmed’s work require experiencing the physicality of these works in person. Ahmed’s Play Field, a digitally manipulated print of a football field, despite being a 2-dimensional image, appears to be a 3-dimensional illusion and creates (if only for an instant) a kind of a doubt/uncertainity about our knowledge about things (our understanding of geometry) and the existential facts of objects. Tanveer on the other hand, addresses the nature of perception, representation, space, materiality and absence through a play of light and dust. Paradise of Paradox, is a darkened space created within the gallery, testing the truth about perception. It is a niche, which omits light from the thin slits on both sides, and beyond that is placed a blower that blows dust into the air every few minutes. This transformation of air and light into physical matter, demands a hypersensitive looking, feeling, listening, smelling and knowing. This creates, if only for a few minutes, a thin film of dust particles with the use of light, that appears so tangible that one is compelled to poke his/her finger, hand or head through it, creating that doubt about seeing, knowing and experiencing. Though the piece is not without its shortcomings, particularly in terms of its carpentry, because of which instead of creating this illusion of a film of dust edge to edge, it was only visible in a small portion, but each one of her audiences had their moment of awe.