Mixed Media Paintings with a New Dimension

Mirza Bashir Ahmad and Adil Masood Qazi are the new artists behind the Mixed Media Paintings Exhibition inaugurated on the 21st of May 2011 at Nairang Gallery. More than 75 of their paintings, which can also be subcategorized as South Asian Diaspora Art, are currently on display. Mughal Paintings in miniature form date back centuries, specifically to the 17th century of the Mughal Empire. The Mughals preserved their history by depicting themselves through paintings. History books are filled with pictures of historical paintings of the Mughals as conquerors or royalty. Bashir and Adil have taken the traditional concept of Mughal miniature art work, and have evolved it with new techniques. For one, their paintings are not exactly miniature; they come in all sizes ranging from as small as 12x12 inch all the way up to 60x84 inch. Also, their work does not only use ink in the longestablished sense of Mughal paintings, but falls under the category of Mixed Media Art, which by definition uses more than one distinct visual art medium (Wikipedia) in combination on the canvas to create visual art. Bashir Ahmad and Adil Qazi have used many mediums in their paintings, including, block printing, collage, oil and water color, acrylic and calligraphy. Last, but not least, an interesting feature worthy of note is that two artists are behind the canvas of a single painting. Each painting has been done in several layers, usually, 6-8, with the two artists alternating between the layers. As Bashir Ahmad puts it, I do one layer, than he does another layer, in this way a painting goes through many layers before it is finished. At first impression, the most striking features of Bashir and Adils paintings are their large size and blending of colors with different images and calligraphy. The artists layering of paint adds to the visual effect of the artwork. Use of autumn shades with smudging and blending of paint around the collage, calligraphy, and block printing brings out the subtle effect of some mediums being a bit further away than others, as if the paintings have aged over time. Shading of the same color helps blend in the different mediums, harmonizing the story of the Mughals as conquerors, scholars and

royalty on the canvas, while contrasting colors help create the effect of depth. Collage and motifs are used on the canvas by Bashir and Adil to create historical meaning behind the images. Pictures of elephants, horses or camels illustrate the importance of these animals in Mughal life for transport and sustenance. Different patterns illustrate the Tajik tradition in Mughal history. Mirza Bashir Ahmad and Adil Masood Qazi have created a new dimension to the Pakistani art scene by adding layers of calligraphy and other elements to centralized composition of traditional miniature Mughal paintings. The result: A beautiful blend of visual mediums, excellent choice of shades and colors, and solid composition.