EXHIBITION: NATURE AND MEMORY |
In his book Kitab al Nabat [Book of Plants], Ibn Sina reflects on plant anatomy within a broader framework of order and purpose in nature.
He believes that the beauty and symmetry of flowers reflects the underlying harmony of nature, referring to them as “vegetative soul”, reflecting a higher cosmic intelligence. Sabah Husain’s show at Chawkandi Art Gallery, Karachi, ‘Gardens of Memory’, was a visual treat, reflecting on the cycle of life through a study of plants in her garden.
Husain is perhaps the only artist in Pakistan who has worked extensively with papermaking. She studied printmaking at the atelier of Japan’s celebrated woodblock printmaker Tokoriki Tomikichiro in Kyoto from 1985-1988. Apart from her specialisation in printmaking at the Kyoto City University of Fine Arts, at an institute of papermaking in Kochi, Shikoku, and post graduate and research studies as Japan Foundation Scholar at the Tokyo University of Arts and Music, her extensive portfolio includes postgraduate studies in the preservation and conservation of works on paper at the Camberwell College of Arts, in London (1990).
‘Gardens of Memory’ showcases a passionate allegiance to nature, visible in her erudite observational skill and study of flora and fauna, created at her garden in Lahore during the Covid lockdown.........