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Showing posts from 2013

Soraya Sikander's 'In, At and Around' visual experiences of memory and travel or exploring urban space

Soraya with her work Calligraphic landscape Landscape on black Soraya Sikander's recent exhibition IN, AT AND AROUND opened to the public on 10th January 2013. The artist, a known name in the U.K, was exhibiting in her hometown after a gap of three years. The work was three dimensional and cutting-edge. Her interpretation of urban British life, and contemporary London landscape met with applaud by British art critics and Professors. Yet what remained most intriguing were three black paintings, not originally intended to be a part of the London diary exhibition. These Black landscapes were created in Karachi and were reflections of the city. Unlike the bright, bursting energy of these London paintings, these three unique, profound Karachi landscapes gave the viewer a haunting account of a bleak city and spoke of restraint beauty.  There are the trees within the trees within the foliage and its corresponding roots, shoots, and the marshy subterranean swamp that holds