LONDON, Oct 24 (APP):Pakistan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK) Mohammad Nafees Zakaria on Thursday said that the scenic beauty of Pakistan was attracting everybody including the Royals.
He stated this while launching the catalogue of the Manora Field Notes—an art
exhibition at the High Commission London by a Pakistani artist Naiza Khan representing the inaugural Pavilion of Pakistan at the Venice Biennale.
The launch ceremony was jointly organised by the High Commission and
Foundation Art Divvy which promotes contemporary art from Pakistan around the
world.
The High Commissioner appreciated the efforts of Naiza Khan and curator Zahra Khan in promoting Pakistani art and culture and showing the beauty and diversity of Pakistan at the Venice Biennale.
He said “the catalogue captures the essence of our rich art and cultural
heritage”.
Zakaria also appreciated the support of the Ministry of Information &
Broadcasting and Pakistan National Council of Arts in setting up an official national
pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale, which is a landmark in promotion and projection
of Pakistan.
The High Commissioner said recent visit of the British Royal Couple also brought to the fore glimpses of that heritage.
“I am confident that such initiatives would help create better understanding of Pakistan in the UK and at the international level.”, he remarked.
While expressing gratitude to High Commissioner Zakaria for his support, Naiza Khan said: “Manora Field Notes was in some way a homage to Manora Island and the port of Karachi. There are interesting parallels between Karachi and Venice – both are port cities within historic transnational trade routes, which have had to negotiate modernity and industrialisation.”
In her remarks, Zahra Khan commented: “The Pavilion of Pakistan gives visitors an insight into a nation navigating its way through a changing contemporary culture.
The presentation encourages the vision of the artist as a lens through which the public can encounter a more a nuanced view of the region, and consider places across the world undergoing similar transformations.”
The catalogue documents the Pavilion through richly printed photographs
of the multimedia installations as well as images of archival material and the
artistic production process.