​​

ARTCITI & IWS Pakistan
Invites you to an exclusive exhibition of paintings

"WEAVING NARRATIVE OF THAR"

by

NADIR ALI JAMALI

11th - 17th February 2021

Exhibition Opening 11th February 2021
6pm - 8pm

Chief Guest
Mr. Hameer Soomro
Dr. Bhai Khan Shar

Guest of Honour
Mr. Ali Abbas Syed
Mr. Rizwan Umrani

Please visit our gallery on the 11th February 2021 to view the amazing work.

All SOPs must be strictly followed.

You can also visit our website to view the paintings online.

www.artciti.com

Weaving narratives of Thar 

Parched, secluded and filled with melancholy, the Thar Desert and its life has been an imperative subject for many painters, writers and poets. The Thar Desert is becoming a focal point of the artists now particularly in the watercolor medium. Nadir Ali Jamali has also made a switch from sculpting to painting and chooses the Thar Desert as his subject to paint. In his present display, he unveiled the contentment and ecstasy which is blurred away by harsh conditions, water scarcity in barren lands of Thar.
However, his focus is different from the subjects which have remained dominant in the works of Pakistani artists. Jamali's work is more about focusing on grazing the surface of an untouched subject which is the life of tweens of Thar. He has devoted the past 10 years of his life to thoroughly study the life of these children of Thar and closely observed them in routine rhythm. The innocent eyes carrying unfulfilled dreams compelled Jamali to produce this wondrous array of work, that represents their voice and convey their stories.

Jamali has used his art as a means of articulating his inner thoughts and annotate the subject. His pieces do not only scream for visual attention but also invites spectators to understand the notion and message which is deeply embedded. He is speaking about the desolation, tension and chaos of a young Thari boy experiences. This is not someone's personal experience but the excellence lies in artist's hands who has executed the paintings so vividly that one can relate to the dreams and hardships even if these are not their own. The compelling works show his concern towards these untold stories and convincing the spectators to look beyond the hues.
He denounces filling his canvases in monotonous and jaded colors to avoid portraying suppression or grief hence used pleasant tones to represent the existence of happiness and festivity so the images appear balancing the cultural, traditional as well as fantastical narrative. He sublimely layered the colors in the wash and subdued technique consequently they don't look overly blended or fused together in haste. The brush strokes are visibly smooth, refined and seem a mesh of light and dark contrast which gives it a radiant quality. Some images have a realistic effect because of the freshness of colors and pigments forming the texture of the pieces, closer to the mythological theme. Jamali has included mood evoking colors carrying dual-edged meanings letting the onlookers read the paintings.

The construction of these images is set in the simplest, coherent, understandable way and they appear extremely powerful, comprehensible and not too busy with patterns and symbols. What is viscerally grabbing and noteworthy in his work is his extraordinary grasp and knowledge of the medium which makes his current body of work exceptional.

The figures painted elucidate the high understating of anatomy, proportions and compositions that could be observed throughout the display which is yet another intrigued fact to notice.  Although the sand dunes are not heavily covering the canvas and paper but they are present in most of the images to set a stronger base of the narrative that Jamali is trying to weave thus the series gradually become a visual poetry from one canvas to another in which Jamali is shaping a personal conversation. The body of work lies at the cusp of contemporary art that the artist intends to further refines with his considerable skills, contemporary style and moreover mixes it with modern backgrounds to give voice to the narrative.

Maheen Aziz