On a Very Small Scale

Staff report - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Karachi: Fatima Zahra Hassan is a visual artist, designer, art educator and researcher with more than 12 years of experience in the field of art.

She was also one of the first graduates of the National College of Arts’ (NCA) Miniature Department.

Her recent display of work opened at the Chawkandi Art Gallery Tuesday evening.

Hassan is inspired by Sufism and the works of poets such as Bulleh Shah and Rumi and her paintings are based on their poetry’s interpretation.

When questioned about her choice of subject, she said “The best thing about Sufism is that it talks about humanity, peace and the love of God, there is no extremism involved.”

However, Hassan seemed rather reluctant to categorise her work under Miniature Art.

“Although some of the work comes under miniature parameters I would just call them paintings. Nevertheless, the beauty of miniature art is that one can explain a lot on a very small scale.”

Around 12 to 15 years ago nobody was familiar with this style of art while today miniatures are the latest trend in Pakistani art. It is our own heritage and people have slowly begun appreciating it.

“The Union” shows two cypress trees symbolizing divinity while one with the creeper around it suggests the lover and the beloved.

Hassan is currently focusing on three-dimensional and digital art and her future work will carry a similar Sufi theme but with the use of more technology.