04.21.2016-05.12.2016
Angels and Demons
Waseem Ahmed & Rashid Rana
Waseem Ahmed was born in Hyderabad, in the southern part of Pakistan. His family migrated from India to Pakistan during partition in 1947. His considerable talent led him North, to the prestigious National College of Arts in Lahore, where he suffered the severity of elitist and archaic teaching methods.
Today however, the artist is a key player on the scene of contemporary miniature painting. Ahmed joins thus a number of South Asian artists that use tradition as a means towards innovation. “The very tradition of miniature painting, particularly the Mughal style which is promoted as Pakistan’s cultural heritage, has become the inspiration for some of the most radical contemporary art work in Pakistan today”. (Virginia Whiles). Ahmed’s inspiration mostly comes from classical and traditional eastern and western art as well as from common people around him with whom he interacts daily. As he writes: “I observe how these people change with changing (social, religious and political) times. I also try to create an understanding between thinking of intellectuals and common people I come across in my everyday life. Presently, my work is more focused on the current social and political issues faced by the Islamic world and to which I am an eye witness on daily basis.”
Widely considered to be the leading Pakistani artist of his generation, Rashid Rana lives and works in his native Lahore, the historical centre of education in Pakistan. In his photography, sculpture and digital printmaking, Rana transposes imagery from one time and place to another, through manipulation, repetition and rearrangement. By moving into digital media and photography the traditional painting techniques taught at school, Rana cleverly relates to the history of art of his country. Rana’s works reveal their complexity through their multiple reading levels. As he writes: “In this age of uncertainty, we have lost the privilege of having one world view. Now every image, idea and truth (may it be ancient or modern) encompasses its opposite within itself. Thus, we live in a state of duality. This internal conflict translates into my work, on a formal level, as well as having geographical, historical and political connotations.”