Inspired by satellite images of the earth, Anjum Saeed has produced a prolific solo show at Koel Gallery, Karachi. Douglas Palmer’s book, The Complete Earth: A Satellite Portrait of Our Planet (which is a documentation of the Earth from the skies), motivated Anjum to recreate an elaborate ‘global portrait’ of our planet. The book that inspired her presents information from NASA’s most powerful satellites to yield ‘a cloud-free, digital atlas’ of the world. Anjum narrates that she and her daughter visited Barnes and Noble where the book caught her eye. “It was the Earth but a different view of the Earth; visually appealing, with a range of gradation; moving in and out; brilliant colors in parts; soft and subtle in others”, Anjum states.
It is remarkable to see how a single source of inspiration provides the impetus for a vast body of work on a two-dimensional surface. Anjum’s visual repertoire is vibrant and refreshing. In an age of inter and cross-disciplinary art practices, she makes a solemn statement with her bold gestural marks and a soulful, earthy palate with oil on canvas - a traditional medium that is patronized less frequently in the contemporary art galleries and art schools of Karachi.
[quote]Oil on canvas is a medium patronized less often in Karachi's contemporary art galleries and schools[/quote]
Anjum treats the oil paint as her core subject. Employing a range of paint applications; flat, curvy, spiral, knitted, knotted, entangled, voluptuous, linear, jittery, smooth and sculptural, the artist explores the materiality of the medium extensively. She uses thick luscious paint, spontaneous scribbles and washy drips to bring her canvases to life. The energy in each mark and stroke is unceasing. There is a gripping interplay of space within its frisky and fidgety forms; some lines have more tensile strength than others, some are tactile while others remain surreptitious and inaccessible.
Although the work is strictly abstract in nature, it is accompanied by a discreet yet powerful narrative. It talks about the metaphysics of the Earth and subtly reflects upon the absence of boundaries and the blurring of borders. Anjum says that some excerpts from The Complete Earth particularly caught her attention where the author talked about manmade boundaries being ‘invisible and irrelevant’. “It hit a cord with me. No barriers, same sufferings, same joys. Humanity as one!” she adds.
The artist rebuilds a photomap of the planet, conscious of evading any kind of confines, restraints and limits. The images offer a mystic discourse on synthetic frontiers and parameters. Anjum gives an accent of the natural earthly elements, reconstructs the planet’s history and aestheticizes its organic movement. The nuances of her paint application sensitively capture the ‘geological moments’ that continue to mold human identity and history. Political and social margins disappear and become immaterial. What remains significant is the fluid and marbled landscape in its entirety. The oceans, seas, glaciers, deserts, mountains, plateaus and forests embellish the spherical, robust surface. On closer inquiry, one tends to spot abstracted volcanoes, river deltas and craters over her canvases.
The lack of representational imagery in the paintings, however, lends an open-ended interpretation to the artwork. The oil pigments’ tectonic layers gently adhere to and intertwine with each other. The work seems aggressive and spontaneous, yet is planned and dainty. Every impression has a distinct personality to it, embodying motion and action. Anjum’s thoughtful use of sharp reds and vermilions, pastel olives and sap greens, quirky cadmiums and pale yellows; tenacious dull greys, hues of royal, cobalt and maya blues, intrepid blacks and creamy, succulent whites, fortify a diverse spectrum of psychological and visual moods. She conquers visual space in all dimensions and gracefully masters the fluency of her language. A spunky artist well worth keeping an eye on!
It is remarkable to see how a single source of inspiration provides the impetus for a vast body of work on a two-dimensional surface. Anjum’s visual repertoire is vibrant and refreshing. In an age of inter and cross-disciplinary art practices, she makes a solemn statement with her bold gestural marks and a soulful, earthy palate with oil on canvas - a traditional medium that is patronized less frequently in the contemporary art galleries and art schools of Karachi.
[quote]Oil on canvas is a medium patronized less often in Karachi's contemporary art galleries and schools[/quote]
Anjum treats the oil paint as her core subject. Employing a range of paint applications; flat, curvy, spiral, knitted, knotted, entangled, voluptuous, linear, jittery, smooth and sculptural, the artist explores the materiality of the medium extensively. She uses thick luscious paint, spontaneous scribbles and washy drips to bring her canvases to life. The energy in each mark and stroke is unceasing. There is a gripping interplay of space within its frisky and fidgety forms; some lines have more tensile strength than others, some are tactile while others remain surreptitious and inaccessible.
Although the work is strictly abstract in nature, it is accompanied by a discreet yet powerful narrative. It talks about the metaphysics of the Earth and subtly reflects upon the absence of boundaries and the blurring of borders. Anjum says that some excerpts from The Complete Earth particularly caught her attention where the author talked about manmade boundaries being ‘invisible and irrelevant’. “It hit a cord with me. No barriers, same sufferings, same joys. Humanity as one!” she adds.
The artist rebuilds a photomap of the planet, conscious of evading any kind of confines, restraints and limits. The images offer a mystic discourse on synthetic frontiers and parameters. Anjum gives an accent of the natural earthly elements, reconstructs the planet’s history and aestheticizes its organic movement. The nuances of her paint application sensitively capture the ‘geological moments’ that continue to mold human identity and history. Political and social margins disappear and become immaterial. What remains significant is the fluid and marbled landscape in its entirety. The oceans, seas, glaciers, deserts, mountains, plateaus and forests embellish the spherical, robust surface. On closer inquiry, one tends to spot abstracted volcanoes, river deltas and craters over her canvases.
The lack of representational imagery in the paintings, however, lends an open-ended interpretation to the artwork. The oil pigments’ tectonic layers gently adhere to and intertwine with each other. The work seems aggressive and spontaneous, yet is planned and dainty. Every impression has a distinct personality to it, embodying motion and action. Anjum’s thoughtful use of sharp reds and vermilions, pastel olives and sap greens, quirky cadmiums and pale yellows; tenacious dull greys, hues of royal, cobalt and maya blues, intrepid blacks and creamy, succulent whites, fortify a diverse spectrum of psychological and visual moods. She conquers visual space in all dimensions and gracefully masters the fluency of her language. A spunky artist well worth keeping an eye on!