21Apr 2024
Lahore · Sunday
- 4 – 5 pm
- Panel talk
MCB Auditorium (A-13), First Floor, Academic Block, LUMS - 5 – 7 pm
- Opening
Academic Block corridors, outside Auditoriums A5 & A6
Collaborative two-person exhibition · 2024
تارِ حریرِ دو رنگ
…tār-e ḥarīr-e do rang (Iqbal)
The silk twine of dual hues
A joint creative interpretation of Iqbal's Urdu and Persian poetry. Amna Manzoor's threads and Shah Abdullah Alamee's calligraphy meet on the same canvas.
Two cities, one show
9May 2024
Islamabad · Thursday
- 5 pm
- Opening
Tanzara Gallery, Saidpur Village
- Guest curator
- Noshi Qadir
- Foreword
- Dr. Nadhra Shahbaz Khan
- In conversation
- Fatima Fayyaz
- Photography
- Kashif Saleem
Curator's note
“Each painting in this exhibition serves as a visual ode to Iqbal's poetic legacy.”
— Noshi Qadir, guest curator
Drawing on Iqbal's poetry in Persian and Urdu, the two artists set out together to unravel the layers of his verses. Through their shared work on canvas they invite viewers into Iqbal's philosophical world, where spirituality, humanism and existential thought meet.
The works echo Iqbal's exploration of the duality of existence and the lasting search for meaning — moments of life's journey caught in ink.
Paintings and their verses
Ākhir آخر
The West stumbles in the dark due to the death of Ḳhudī; the East crumbles like a leper’s touch due to the death of Ḳhudī.
ʿIshq-o Khākistar عشق و خاکستر
Love is straw as well as burning ember; it is far beyond conventional religion and knowledge.
Pardah پردہ
Many a night I wept for the sake of humans, until I tore the veil of life’s mysteries.
Shab-o-Saḥar شب و سحر
Do not isolate yourself from the East, nor shun the West. Nature demands transforming every night into dawn.
Muḥabbat محبت
Greed has split up mankind: so teach the lesson of brotherhood and speak the language of love.
One poem, three paintings
Tan beh tan · Rabt o ẓabt · Hameh ḳhalq-e ḳhudā-st
Three diptychs take their titles from the same stanza — “body to body”, “bond and control”, “all are God's creation”.
To utter ill words is a sin;
believer and non-believer, all are creation of God.
Humanity is respecting the human beings —
beware of the status of human beings.
Humanity is marked by the control over and bond between the bodies;
take a step on the path of friendship.
— Iqbal · translation from the exhibition catalogue
Up close
In conversation · Fatima Fayyaz
What do the threads mean for you, and how do they meet calligraphy in these works?
“The interwoven threads in my work symbolise the connections between people and the delicate balance of our feelings. When I collaborate with Shah Abdullah, these threads merge with his calligraphy.”
— Amna Manzoor
On Ishq (love) and Pardah (veil)
“The threads that seemingly drown the word Pardah represent both concealment and revelation. As a female artist, I connect with these themes on multiple levels.”
“The delicate weaving of threads reflects the subtle experiences and emotions women navigate, often balancing love, concealment, societal expectations and self-expression.”
Collaborator
Shah Abdullah Alamee
Born in Quetta in 1990; BFA, National College of Arts, 2012, where he received the Haji Shareef Award for miniature painting. He teaches Persian miniature painting, calligraphy and drawing at the Faiz Foundation, Lahore.