Several artists in a group show of 16, curated by the Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF), zero in on the human condition in the post-pandemic world using billboards.
Zinda-dil-a’an-e-Lahore —an exclusive Billboard Project conceived by the Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF), curated by its Executive Director Qudsia Rahim can now be seen in Pakistan’s beautiful Ravi-adjacent, much-loved Lahore — known in the past as a city of gardens, it has now fast become a city of concrete. Sixteen of Lahore’s most dynamic contemporary artists confronted with the most outstanding challenge of the 21st century — the ongoing global pandemic— express themselves on larger-than-life billboards, highlighting ideas that resonate with the people of Lahore and also have an ubiquitous and universal reach.
From Jail Road, Mini Market and Main Boulevard to Lahore’s peripheries as far as Bhatti Gate and Johar Town, the billboards, which include seven new commissions, aim to evoke appreciation from the people of Lahore. ‘The nice thing about art is that each person reads it through their own perception,’ says Qudsia Rahim as we talk about her project. ‘We are always looking for creative ways to bring art to public spaces,’ she continues. ‘Billboards have been one of the spaces that had been on my radar since the inception of the Foundation – they literally are like canvases.’
Qudsia believes the project has multiple goals; first to encourage people to go billboard-watching, in the hope that they will rediscover, or revisit other parts of their city and in doing so, be introduced to Pakistan’s contemporary art world and its artists, normally hidden from the public eye. And secondly by bringing art out of galleries and homes to urban spaces, the LBF wants to make art accessible to all, regardless of their demographic background or understanding, with the aim to inspire and bring hope.
‘What is beautiful about this project is that we were able to reach 16 different neighbourhoods throughout the city, many of which we normally do not visit since they are not on our regular route,’ she says.
Big name artists were lined up for the project and their work is now creating a significant impact on the Lahore cityscape. On Main Boulevard, Gulberg, above the Halcyon pharmacy, you will find Naazish Ata Ullah’s billboard — the artist’s finger is on the pulse of humanity’s current condition. She uses text with two vertical lines below to reference the symbol for ‘pause’. It’s used against an image of scrim or ‘malmal’/chaddar fabric which I have used earlier in my work as a metaphor for oppression,’ says Naazish. ‘The year 2020 is a ‘pause’ in time for me, as I believe it is for the whole world. As if there is a momentary pause that will ‘play’ in time once this pandemic is over.’
‘Life as we knew it has been recalibrated,’ says artist Ayesha Jatoi as she follows a similar conceptual trajectory. ‘We have been challenged as humans to redefine our inner horizons.’ Her text-based billboard titled ‘Khat-e-Ufaq Bhi Ab Yahan Baqi Nahin’ takes serious note of how the horizon, a symbol of hope, has become blurred not only in our physical environment for reasons such as pollution and smog, but within our internal selves as we tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. Her concept is simple but powerful, an education in one line, even for the most humble viewer.
Salima Hashmi takes the conversation to another level as she puts a spotlight on the dark mores of patriarchy in Pakistan — the rise in domestic violence with the advent of the pandemic. Her point of reference is in the 1990s when a woman named Zainab was physically abused by her cleric husband who tortured her with heating rods. ’I resort to self portraits,’ says Salima Hashmi, ‘gagged and silenced yet resisting, backed up against a wall, a motif engulfed by the instability of the elements that make up our existence.Yet there is a feeling of poetic courage which is a tribute to Zainab.’ The work stands testament to the fact that political and social concerns have engaged Pakistani artists for several decades now — in 2020 the concerns are universal.
Imran Qureshi’s work titled ‘Still/Breathing’ on Ghazi Chowk, in DHA, Lahore is remarkable in its impact. Simply imagined the artist tells us that the simple face mask is gold, the first line of defense for every Covid-19 warrior in the world today. Executed in the inimitable Imran Qureshi style, he constructs a mask in 24 carat gold leaf. ‘Yet at the same time, flakes of gold leaf may be seen floating around, giving a sense of uncertainty through their fragility in a rather poetic way,’ he explains, ‘symbolic of the uncertainty that we are all experiencing in our lives during these days of the pandemic.’
The LBF’s Billboard Project will surely appeal to the imagination of Lahore denizens famed for their joie de vivre against the odds, as well as art lovers who read about it, even if they didn’t get the opportunity to see the show. All the artists in this showcase give back with their heartfelt messaging via their art, so watch out for Waqas Khan, Faiza Butt, Ali Kazim, Hamra Abbas, Wardha Shabbir, Saba Khan, Atif Khan, Masooma Syed, Asif Khan, Ruby Chisti, and Shah Abdullah Alamee.
Maybe LBF could do a video survey to get some necessary insight from people who looked up and were inspired.
Photos: Courtesy the Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF)
A project of the Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) in partnership with the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA). Sponsored by Kinetics and HBL.
