A land of imagination

A show by artist S.A. Noory took place at Art Citi gallery, Karachi, on February 14^th, 2019. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art, Noory has been exhibiting his work in several shows locally and internationally since 1998. Apart from being a practicing artist, he has also worked commercially with various news and advertising agencies.

The visuals of Noory’s show were set around a rural setting in which he has possibly depicted his own experience in such a setting or he could even be addressing a story or tale, if the unusual colour palette in some of his visuals is observed. In some paintings, a tranquil, yet absorbing shade of blue, has been used by the artist to depict his landscapes, which give the sense of a possible foreign land. In one visual, a vagrant or a saint-like figure is shown to be sitting while he is surrounded by pigeons who are visibly attracted to his aura; the person’s entire surrounding is depicted in blue, almost looking like he is in an area surrounding ice.

Taking the entire image into consideration, the artist is either trying to visualise a fictional narrative or simply paying homage to elders of villages; perhaps a village which he has visited before, as depicted in the particular art work. Another image similarly showed three saint-like figures sitting near a shrine praying; the shrine visibly being surrounded by a ghastly shade of the same blue. This particular depiction could be symbolic of an unconscious connection that the artist has built with these places or such people, possibly a sacred connection.

Similarly, an image made by the artist shows a camel dancing to the tune of drums being played by two men; in this visual again, the men seem to be disappearing with the ghastly blue background. The blue seems to be like a powerful mist which is swallowing the entire visual, perhaps something that the artist has experienced with his own eyes before in such a landscape.

Another interesting set of visuals in Noory’s collection were the ones with the depiction of fish in them. In some visuals, the artist had painted various kinds of fishes taped to backdrops of different colours; seemingly landscapes of deserts or water. Perhaps the most eye-catching aspect of these visuals was the technique of realism and the fresh colour palette with which the artist had painted; the depicted fishes could be symbolic of fertility and growth, the fish being the source of nutrition for the people living in villages.

There were many other visuals made but to discuss a few, these visuals seem like they have had a personal connection with the artist. The strong color palette and details show that the artist has experienced these visuals up close, taking the clarity of the images into consideration. Having his own style of realism, his visuals will hopefully encourage the viewers to not only appreciate art but will push people to enter the creative world and find their own language.