An exhibition collaboration between CAIS Gallery and Whitney Ferrare

Curated by Whitney Ferrare
Featuring works by Hasnat Mehmood, Muhammad Zeeshan & Imran Channa On January 8th, 2010 CAIS Gallery - Hong Kong in collaboration with guest curator Whitney Ferrare will present a revealing group show of superbly thought provoking Pakistani miniatures.

The Havelian Express is the proposed first passenger train between Pakistan and China. Aptly named, the exhibition hopes to provide yet another metaphorical link
between these two countries whose histories are intertwined through centuries of artistic dialogue, influence, and nomadic incursion. Vestiges of Persian, Mughal
and Indus Valley Civilization portrayal in China can be seen from the first mosque built in the Tang Dynasty, to Buddhist art, and blue ceramic floral motifs from the
Yuan Dynasty.

Since partition from India in 1947, Pakistan is often viewed through a slim prism of cynicism over the tumultuous societal and ongoing political conflicts. Painted with culture of contradictions, the country offers a fertile ground for artists to explore and engage the semiotics of Pakistani life through contemporary sensibilities.

Mehmood, Zeeshan, and Channa’s individual practices are daringly different reinventions of a demanding discipline. Looking beyond the domestic potent crimate, the works in and of themselves carry an immense beauty with the hope of serving as cultural ambassadors to present a more nuanced picture of Pakistan.

Cultural Connoisseurs of their genre, each artist defies and reinterprets the oeuvre in remarkably intricate and complementary minimalist styles while inviting the audience into a critically charged debate over the accuracy of historical accounts and paying homage to time-honoured traditions.