Muhammad Zeeshan Special Siri Series
Special Siri Series
Paintings Exhibition
by
MUHAMMAD ZEESHAN
on Tuesday 15 May, 2012 at 5:00 pm
the Exhibition will countinue till 24 MAy, 2012
Daily 11:00 am to 8:00 pm (excluding Sunday)
Canvas Gallery
F 50/A, Block 4, Clifton,
Karachi, Pakistan
There are different ways of tracing history. One of them is to make it look horrible and yet discover progressive elements in it. The other way is to refer to a certain pattern, which may or may not be palatable, in history with a positive frame of mind. For example, internecine fights in the days of yore causing a lot of bloodshed have often been illustrated in hair-raising terms. And still, there are some artists (and scholars) who find aspects in them which helped mankind grow intellectually.
An exhibition of artist Muhammad Zeeshan’s latest works opened at the Canvas Gallery. The organisers have titled it, The special siri series’.
Siri is the word used in Urdu to describe the head of an animal — goat, cow etc — especially with reference to a particular dish. The viewer sees quite a few siris in the exhibition, however, that’s not the whole story.
Muhammad Zeeshan is trying to connect the past with the past. This means what happened in yesteryear in the name of wars and sacrifices carries on not necessarily for the wrong reasons, but for reasons that are unavoidably related to human progress.
According to a statement provided by the gallery on the artist’s latest endeavour, “he seeks inspiration from cultural archetypes, in particular the image of the Pakistani film hero whose bravery and courage is symbolised by the profusion of blood that covers his body”. It is an indication that Muhammad Zeeshan is striving to move away from the path that many have chosen to define the violence that has engulfed our society for long. He is redefining, without ignoring the severed or decapitated heads, the whole thing by giving it, among other things, a positive look.
To achieve all of that, the artist has also experimented with a new technique, namely laser scoring with gouache on wasli.
(Dawn)
