On art and politics.

Byline: Shakoh Zulqurnain

Art does not exist merely for the satisfaction of the aesthetic needs of the communities. On the contrary, art has been used as a medium for political expression throughout the known history of mankind. In fact, some may argue that there is no such thing as apolitical art. Be it Max Ernst's 'Europe After the Rain' which depicts the horrors of World War Two or Picasso's 'Massacre in Korea' which portrays American forces as imperialistic Napoleon army that are massacring innocent civilians, paintings and art works have a way of encapsulating political statements and public conscience in a manner no other genre can. It is precisely for this reason many art works and artists are banned or exiled by the ruling authorities when the latter come in crosshairs.

A similar shameless episode of state highhandedness was witnessed last Sunday at Karachi Biennale when an installation titled 'Killing Fields of Karachi' by Adeela Suleman displayed at Frere Hall was forcibly shut down. The exhibit was about 444 alleged extra judicial killings conducted by Rao Anwar, a former SSP who is under trial for the same. The installation consisted of two parts. One part was the video projection of pictures of Naqeebullah Mehsud, an alleged victim of extra judicial killing, and his father's interview. The second part consisted of 444 concrete grave stones symbolizing people killed by Anwar in different encounters. Just two hours into a 14-day event, the video installation was shut down and tombstones were smashed into pieces. A press conference condemning state's action was also obstructed. The installation was temporarily restored by students and activists but was altogether removed when organizers of Biennale suddenly declared that the installation was incompatible with the theme of this year's Biennale.

Adeela Suleman rightly pointed out in her interview that the installation was approved in advance by the organizers. 'How could they not have known what the installation was about when tombstones were being installed in the open over a span of several days?' she retorted in the interview. Disowning of the work by the organizers at such a late stage on the pretext of its incompatibility with the theme of the event is preposterous and conjectures two possibilities. One is that either they were so incompetent that they did not know beforehand what exhibits are being displayed at their event. A second possibility is that they disowned the work...