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Portraying the faces of expression

True to life:Jawed Aslam and P.V. Yasir at their ongoing show at the Srishti Art Gallery in Kozhikode.

There is nothing abstract or intriguingly evasive about the paintings of Jawed Aslam, a Delhi-based art student and researcher.

His attempts to portray true and realistic expressions in human beings - be it agony or ecstasy – convey exactly that.

A cross-section of his work, along with a collection of photographs of life in the interiors of north India taken by his friend and co-researcher P.V Yasir, is on show at the Srishti Art Gallery here. The show ‘Solace to Solitude,' which opened on Monday, comprises more than 10 paintings by Jawed and nearly 35 photographs by Yasir.

The commonality in the thick friends' views of life is reflected in their works as well. Jawed has portrayed the expressive faces of a line of artists who play a single sitar to the accompaniment of a chorus of rhythm artists playing from the opposite side to perfection in a work titled ‘Expression Vs Chorus.'

Jawed says he has made the artists play the extended fret-board of a single sitar “to explore the possibility of simultaneously visualising the myriad expressions fleeting on the artist's face while immersed in playing the instrument.”

The obsession of the artist with varied expressions of human beings is apparent from the sample of paintings included in the show. A series of untitled works depicts different poses of a village girl in her different dispositions. The one where the girl stands besides her “childhood boyfriend” with an orange in her hand has been completed to near perfection in terms of the “mysterious mix of shyness, sexuality and innocence” on her face.

After completing a bachelor's degree in fine arts from the Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, Jawed is collaborating with Yasir who is researching Indian nationalist history. The photographs by Yasir were taken during the innumerable journeys made across north India for research.

The artist-duo, based in Delhi, hails from Malappuram and is currently working on a project visualising their research theses that deals with the life of some of the unsung heroes in the Indian nationalist history.

The exhibition will draw to a close on Friday.

Jabir Mushthari

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