An exhibition of prints by Anjum Ayub, mix media paintings by Ubaid Syed and exquisite blown glass by Martin Willems opens at Nomad Gallery’s Saidpur branch here today (Thursday).

“I paint what I see — but I use more than my eyes to see. Memories can be as vivid as objects. Ambiance can be as real as landscapes. Moods can be coloured. The soul can have a face. Experiences can be rooms that are personal on paper as well as in the mind,” the enterprising printmaker Anjum Ayub stated at the exhibition’s preview.

Anjum is deeply attracted to and moved by the concerns of the soul. She enjoys working with colours and textures in a bid to create a kind of sanctuary for the soul. “These prints are the product of my ideas, style, spirit, personality and conscience – none of which can be expressed without the other. I wish to share comments on what is going on in the world, which, after all, is a surrealistic place,” she stated.

Anjum has contributed 20 prints to the show; these vary from historical to personal and modern expression. As always, her prints are powerful and experimental. Anjum believes that every human being has his own personal space within which they can happily survive, should they be willing. “Every person is attached with the music of his life. We all live in the same space — only our colours are different,” she elucidated.

The printmaker has tried to portray women in a happy, rather than a miserable mood. Most women suffer from self-inflicted misery, while in reality, they are just as powerful and assertive as men. She uses her art to encourage women to be close to nature and to communicate with it. Anjum also detests the ostentation that has come to characterise our lives. “If someone is not honest with God and offers his prayers merely as a ritual, how can you expect him to be honest to humanity,” she asked, pointing towards a print depicting a man kneeling in prayer.

Ubaid Syed, the other artist whose paintings are on display, has also focused on nature, but in a different way. Grouped under the title ‘Nordic Lights,’ the artist has tried to capture the element of surprise in nature by using a variety of forms, light and depth of colours. “It is nature which, with its countless amazing exhibitions of embodiment of wisdom, completeness and perfection, transforms me into a curious child and awakens the sense of oneness with the world,” he states in a written statement.

Technically, Ubaid works with mixed media – acrylic, oil and tempera on canvas. “Form is the identity of content. In art, it becomes the means of perception of the transcendental and the absolute. To me, the essence of art lies in the creation of artistic generalization and not in representing reality in its concrete form. I intend to stick with impression rather than a fully elaborate composition; spontaneity rather than smooth finish. My art is a composition of mixed metaphors, disconnected, random feelings of both related images that come across me,” the artist explains.

Ubaid believes that an artist needs to destroy his own nature to fully comprehend the grand design that is manifest in all creation and creature. “He needs to decompose himself to penetrate beyond the visible and then transform his feelings into images. It is a struggle for imaginative freedom and spontaneity against norms and borders,” he articulates.

The Karachi-born artist, who is currently living in Sweden, initially studied at the Karachi School of Art, and completed a one-year painting course at the Pakistan American Culture Centre, Karachi, before moving to Stockholm to study Croquis Drawing and Model Painting. He started his creative journey as a realist, and subsequently opted in favour of abstract paintings, which made him a freer person. The artist has extensively exhibited his work.

Martin Willems adds variety, beauty and colour to the exhibition with his blown glass dancing figures, lanterns, fish models, plates and bowls, and some special forms for decoration. Martin’s career as an artist spans a period of 50 years. ‘I started with ceramic and sculpture in Holland, and later on, did painting in Australia and the UK,” said Martin, whose first experience with glass was at Portugal. Subsequently, his stay in Barcelona, Spain, truly exposed him to the enormous possibilities inherent to glass.

Martin has been living in Pakistan for the last four months. He first exhibited his glass products in Faisalabad three years ago, followed by a show at Al-Hamra and the National Art Gallery; he is planning an exhibition in Karachi in April this year.

“Blown glass offers more expression than fusing. One of the added features of glass is that it gives coloured shadows too,” Martin said, pointing towards a couple of pieces juxtaposed under direct sunlight. “Most blowers are not artists, and hence, do not have the skills and education to practice the technique,” the artist states.

Martin imports his colours from Germany. “Had it not been for the quality of the colours, the brilliance would not have been there,” he said. Experience enables the artist to predict the end-result of his skill; however, at the same time, each of his pieces is unique because none can be re-created or replicated.

Martin has had several requests for holding workshops in Pakistan; however, the menace of perpetual and unannounced load-shedding makes it impossible for him to do so. “In glass blowing, the temperature has to be maintained. You cannot afford power cuts,” he smilingly added. The artist has participated in numerous international workshops and symposia in Hungary, Lithuania, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Germany. He is now planning a show in Dubai as well.

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