Mirror images of today’s Pakistan

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Who are you, defenders of the universe? Call it a quest or a question — the words do their job. They make you pause and ponder. Browse through Pakistani artist Mehreen Murtaza’s work, currently on display at Kolkata’s Experimenter Contemporary Art Gallery till June 26, and perhaps the answer is camouflaged in the numerous collages that stare back at you. Her work meanders from socio political to spiritual space and comes at a time when her country is walking a thin line between survival and anarchy.
“The photo-montages are unending layers of photos taken off the streets by me, stock photography borrowed and manipulated from the Internet, scans of newspapers and magazines. I work in a very linear fashion; first researching, then gathering material and finally the process itself is based on technical skill. I usually play around on a blank canvas with a vague idea in mind and really let the process take it on itself from there,” she informs
The Lahore-based artist reveals that the title “Who are you, defenders of the universe?” sneaked from a particular song of The Dears band, which played in her mind while she burnt the midnight oil for this project.
Diverse and open to varied interpretation, the collection is perceptive. Of course an artist has her version and vision, so does Mehreen: “I’ve always read the song as being about a corrupt government, wiretapping their citizens and spying on their citizens as a means of control, the government being personified as a single person who is trying to convince the citizens that they can help them. It’s no longer stuff of science fiction but definitely gorging on a lot of conspiracy theories that have been floating for ages. Of course, without this prior background, the title could suggest a number of propositions. An alien invasion? The voice of society? An existential question directed towards oneself? I think the ambiguity of the title is what creates intrigue and yet gives a vague sense of direction once seen in the context of the work,” she explains.
The relevance of the title and the subject hardly misses the eye. In its external appearance, the collection resembles a mirror image of present-day Pakistan. Be it the jubilant lawyers celebrating their triumph against the regime, an imaginary nuclear arsenal station or the establishment in a show of strength. And then an element of mysticism hardly misses the eye. In her response Mehreen suggests, “One thing leads to another, I do not necessarily restrict myself to a specific theme. I think the keyword would be organised religion amongst much of the subject matter. There is a fine line between the realm of spirituality and religion. I feel Sufism best described this idea. From New Age Religions to fundamental belief systems, Sufism has become a blur. Its relevance to my work stems from its relevance in our culture, as an essence of Lahore and it’s history and it’s equivocal meaning in contemporary society. In fact, the tradition of Sufism is widespread and has attained somewhat of an iconic pop cultural status in Pakistan; it’s amalgamated, metamorphosed and re-interpreted. I’m not purporting technology as an extension of spirituality but admitting to a union of the two where the underlying theme is of control. The technological aspect is a subject close to heart. I’ve grown up on computers, machines and the Internet. It is an extension of my body. The love-hate relationship shall continue and I feel most at ease using it as a medium for my work,” she says.
Mehreen, a graduate in Fine Arts from Beaconhouse National University, Lahore feels her creations are inquisitive by nature. “My work is not meant to give a complete truth. It is, in fact, questioning the truth. Definitely asking, rather than answering. Ultimately, I don’t believe that a complete truth exists. For me, it’s interesting when ideas are being provoked and questions being proposed. What is most important to me is that the artwork creates a reverberation and a resonance that lingers with the viewer.”