An armed soldier sitting atop a TV set and deposed judges drying their wigs on a clotheslines is how two Pakistani artists have represented the repression of the media and judiciary since the imposition of emergency in this country.K B Abro and S Faraz Ali's joint exhibition on emergency titled "Pakistan Zindabad: a question of human Rights agenda" has been drawing visitors in hordes at a private gallery in the federal capital.Abro, a senior artist, shows the development of the country with a barbed wire going northwards in Balochistan. Forming the backdrop are blood-stained footprints of civilians being guarded by the army across the barbed wire.Another portrait "Development in Pakistan" punctures the talk of development, with the army, politicians and bureaucracy tucking in currency notes and the development needle shooting from their pockets."This is a portrait of development in our country. The only people who are 'developing' are the top brass," explained the gallery in-charge at Nomad Art Gallery. "The exhibition has been specially curated in the light of recent happenings," she said.Abro's paintings, which are up for sale, focus on the clampdown on the media, the judicial crisis and the "carnage" in Karachi in May when deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry attempted to address his supporters.Abro pokes fun at the softer image of Pakistan, which is showcased to the world by framing a picture of a dancer in army colours.The relationship between politicians and the army is articulated in his painting "Uniform and Politics - Seesaw", which has a politician and a top army man sitting on a seesaw.The "mullah military alliance" shows the backs of a mullah and a general, with their arms thrown around each other. But the most vocal of Abro's work is "End the emergency in Pakistan".Faraz, a junior artist, has displayed 10 mixed media paintings, some of which reflect the "new Pakistani image post-9 fascination for Chinese goods in Pakistan has also been explored by Faraz. A woman in a blood-red "shuttlecock burqa" is stamped "Made in China"."The day is not far when Pakistanis will start wearing burqas made in China," the gallery in-charge said.Faraz's portrayal of Osama bin Laden is thought-provoking. In a painting titled "I like the stars", Osama's mug shots replace the stars on the US flag, reflecting that country's obsession with the Al Qaida chief.Another painting, "Applied for Registration", focuses on the trauma of Afghan migrants who have not yet been accepted in Pakistan.The identity crisis faced by Pakistanis after 9/11 is shown in a work titled "Proud to be Pakistani". The subject's face is covered with a pixilated picture of the national flag, which shows that most Pakistanis are seen as "terrorists" by the outside world.Another interesting canvas titled "Twin terrorists" shows US President George W Bush and Osama Bin Laden. "For the West Osama is a terrorist and for the Muslim world Bush is a terrorist," explained the gallery in-charge.But perhaps the most eye catching image was an oil on canvas on the "Judiciary in Pakistan" an imprint of a wooden judge with reams of newsprint forming the backdrop.
