Group show by various artists to open on Jan 3

ISLAMABAD, Jan 02 (APP):Etched and Inked- a group show featuring works by National and International Printmakers Aqeel Solangi, Atif Khan, Fatima Saeed, Irum Wani, Kate Bassett, Laila Rahman, Sameera Khan, Sarah Hopkins will open here on January 3 at Khaas Art gallery.

“Etched and Inked”, is an exhibition of a group of innovative and established printmakers from UK, Denmark and Pakistan. It is focused solely on the art of printmaking.

It builds a positive context whereby artists are involved in the dissemination of their artworks and share their ideas with the public through the mediators of a gallery, stimulating greater sentience and knowledge of original prints to larger audiences.

It deepens a mutual understanding and motivates a way of thinking, of and beyond political, pecuniary and social borders.

The participants have their own distinct styles on the medium. It is a collection of prints from artists with a very diverse approach.

“Etched and Inked”, is also an allegory of the collaborative nature of printmaking that made it survive through the past to the present, bringing forward both the traditional and contemporary, techniques and processes, said the organizers.

Printmaking is multi-faceted and what makes it further unique is that by staying within the realm of art; one can produce an abundance of editions.

Thus, giving an artist the opportunity to produce and share more than one set of the same images. This makes the art accessible to everyone. It gives an ease of ownership to a genuine art piece.

“Place – Replace, Location – Relocation are the main conceptual concerns in my work. Both etchings for this exhibition are etched on zinc and copper plates.

In Swing, an empty, half-opened swing is a sort of invitation to sit, swing and celebrate life.

Whereas the other etching, titled ‘Roots of the Soul’ has sort of soul-searching approach,” says Aqeel Solangi about the work.

“By and large, my work is a homage to local popular visual culture, paying tribute to its amalgamation of Central Asian/Persian aesthetics and a local South Asian blend of expressive storytelling.

Borrowing from and building on a gamut of images and iconography across hundreds of years of Mughal culture and miniature paintings, to local truck art and a diverse range of visual materials from my everyday life, I create an imaginary universe.

Juxtaposing images in contrasting environments subverts their original contextual meaning and opens windows on new stories that speak of my concerns about spiritual and physical worlds, simultaneously”, Atif Khan said about the show.

The show will continue till January 12.