PukhtunWomen

Looking at Fauzia Minallah's art there are some aspects that just jump out. I am not an artist or art critic, but want to share what I see in her art.

I have to admit that her art is touching and appealing at a conscious and unconscious level. My first observation was the abundance of snakes in almost all of her paintings.

The snakes seem to symbolize the danger that glides past us seen and unseen and the prevailing circumstances. Yet snakes also symbolize rebirth and the power to shed behind the past and move towards the future with new defenses. Yet in some of the paintings they seems to symbolize our fall from grace and the expulsion from the garden of Eden.

Fauzia's paintings seem to emphasize her attraction to a light palette with a concentration of earthy colors and tones they seem to portray humility and respect at the same time. Some of the colors are so subtle that they imply her down to earth character and how she his to protect her inner most sensitivity from the roughness of the world around her.

She is not afraid of using a monochromatic theme but challenges us to accept all the possible shades of a color to get her message across. Her calm and depth of strong emotions also surfaces at moments like these.

In the piece titled" husband and wife" the images themselves and the choice of colors also make us mourn the loss of innocence and the sacrifice of a child's childhood in the guise of tradition. Yet the use of light shades suggests that she still sees hope for humanity and that there may be darkness all around us her figures always seem to be moving towards the light.

These little portals of light (or windows of hope as I like to think of them) where the light is always pouring in, make her an uncommon artist as she seems to be one of the few that still have any optimism left.

Her clay sculptures are amazing and she is the only Pukhtun woman artist that I know of that has chosen this medium for expression. The beauty of the elegant and serene faces lighted by candles seem to reek of optimism and contentedness. Once again all the light seems to symbolize her optimism.

There is an over all neutrality and balance in her art that leaves one with an understanding and connection to her inner most feelings.

The images remain with us long after you no longer can see them.

I personally wish her all the best and hope to see more of her work showcased here. Best wishes Fauzia Minallah khoray.