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Modern miniatures

There has been a transformation of historical miniature painting from the Mughal courts of South Asia into a stunning contemporary art form by current Pakistani artists. Exploring this, ArtChowk is holding a new exhibition ‘Redefining the Miniature’ at Modula Conceptio on Jumeirah Beach Road from January 22-23, focusing on the contemporary miniature movement in Pakistan.

“‘Redefining the Miniature’ studies new boundaries in the art of miniatures. All the participating artists are young miniaturists who explore and extend the traditional limitations of the genre: they have worked with media, surfaces, dimension and scale to explore a new definition of the miniature,” says Camilla H Chaudhary, curator of the show and owner of ArtChowk which established its online gallery three years ago as a platform for emerging artists from the region. The gallery opened in Karachi in October 2009.

The contemporary miniature movement builds on the centuries-old tradition of miniature painting in South Asia and innovates through tradition, instead of being limited by it. The artists featured in this exhibition take different approaches to this innovation, whether through novel treatments of classic subject matter or technique, playing with ideas of scale, or utilising digital and other forms of media instead of painting.

From being a delicate chronicler of history and courtly life, depicting historical conflicts and celebrating the grandeur of royalty, contemporary miniatures have evolved to become a means of self-expression for the artist. “Many focus their narrative on themselves, exploring their own personal journeys and depicting the issues that concern them. Often these issues remain social topics, however, contrary to the more detached depictions of earlier works, modern miniaturists bring an intense connection to their subject. In doing so, they manipulate traditional techniques and surfaces and create a dialogue that is uniquely their own and very contemporary,” adds Chaudhary.

Sara Khan has the potential to experiment. Her brushwork adheres to the academic requirements, especially the attributes of precision and delicacy, so essential to a miniature. She builds her narrative around graphics of pistols, firearms, bullets, gun barrel enlargements and figurative images of subalterns/sepoys from British India. In Distorted Feminism which will be on display at this exhibition, the artist has created miniatures on walnut shells and a necklace. There’s a portrait of a king and queen on the necklace and herself in between with a pistol. “It’s about a dysfunctional family where you are torn in between owning a heirloom (necklace) and the feud that ensues after obtaining it. The pistol is attuned to the violence that we are facing daily in Pakistan,” she says.

Her artworks usually make digs at the society so that people can question her about it. “I want people to discuss issues as well as exchange views. I feel by using myself as a metaphor we can discuss general problems and once they are at the forefront, finding solutions would be so much easier,” says the artist who’s experimenting with 3D miniature.

Fariha Nadir is displaying four art pieces here, three of them are a replica of five thousand Pakistan Rupee notes while one is a small relief sculpture, adroitly sculpted on a one rupee coin.

“I have used a 5,000 Rupee note and experimented in different modes with the monument image of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. I have adeptly detached his image from the note in different ways, simply emphasising how our nation has forgotten him as father of the nation, his efforts and 
sacrifices and his golden message of unity, faith, and discipline,” says Nadir.

Raheela Abro justifies her commitment to the spirit of the miniature by painting portraits of ordinary people onto the heads of pawns on a chessboard showing the characteristics of an owl. This highlights the exploitation of the masses. “The common man has become a pawn in the hands of the high and mighty,” she says, adding, “I’m displaying eight pawns (which are the weakest in a game) saying that those who rise to power make an ulloo (owl) or a fool out of people by manipulating their minds and since only one man can play them, it is a political comment on the state of affairs in the country today where pawns act as laymen and are deceived by people in power.”

The deft Sheema Khan adopts a unique approach by installing two chairs and a book depicting her belief: “Every man for himself, every chair for itself”. Chairs represent a silent conversation, while the book with bureaucratic jargon emulates Mughal emperor Akbar’s Hamzanama which has been described as the quintessential Indian work of art in its seizing and adapting the best from all cultures. “The situation in Pakistan today is such that everything equals power hence the chair is symbolic of that. Everybody is eyeing that chair but only one person gets it and after that what happens?” she asks. “I feel that my work is my message. Artists are social scientists; we can comment on the society, reflect and ponder but how much change comes about after that needs to be seen,” she emphasises.

raziqueh@khaleejtimes.com