Ode to Aleppo — New media works by Fatima Munir

KARACHI: Behind every beautiful thing, there's been some kind of pain-exemplifying the famous quote of Bob Dylan the hidden theme in the beauty of each piece of art currently on display at Canvas is the agony of the irreparable devastation looming over the ancient city of Aleppo.

Unable to escape, avoid or ignore-through her series titled ‘Albatross’ opening on Tuesday, April 12th, 2017, emerging artist Fatima Munir deals with the anguish of witnessing over and over again the deluge of images circulating on social media.  

Devastated, shamed and frustrated on daily basis by the influx of raw images of the innocent trapped in conflict, Munir is of the opinion that her current work perhaps questions the idea if merely being moved is enough to absolve us of our guilt as spectators of atrocities like that of Aleppo.

With the war-ravaged landscape and society of Syrian city taking centre stage on each canvas of inkjet print, the 25 works on display represent her understanding and concerns regarding the troubled present of its people while it crumbles in front of the world as it sits helpless. Unable to alter or do anything about it the current body of work is her way of dealing with the overwhelming frustration, says the artist.

Talking about the rubble of war cloaked under the painted flowers with hand embroidery in her works Munir says therapeutic in nature the technique is her way of calming her fears and anxiety. The excessive embroidery and patterns of flowers in this body of work is perhaps also her way of masking the pain and agony, she concludes.

An alumni of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Fatima since her graduation in 2012 has exhibited her new media works locally and globally.

Her solo show at canvas continues daily until Thursday 20th April 2017.