ISLAMABAD: A solo exhibition of as many as 30 wood block prints was put on display here on Sunday by Shahida Mansoor at gallery 8b2 featuring unique symbolic imagery.
The show titled “Vessels” will continue till December 20. All the prints in this show are in Japanese Technique of printing on kozo Washi Paper from Japan and on hand made paper from Pakistan. This Technique of wood block print making is different from European Technique as it does not Baren”, a disk-like require a press machine, instead printing is done with hand tool. All natural materials involved include handmade paper, water based colors and Japanese ink called “Tsumi”, which contribute to her unique expressions.
In comparison to the European printing with oil color, Japanese wood block printing has a
warm quality and depth as the color sinks deep inside handmade paper which is kept moistened through the entire printing process. Another specific feature is gradation of color which is often used in her work in combination with texture of wood.
Here one encounters woodblock prints of the artists of a restless soul. A modernist oriental, ‘filling what’s empty and emptying what’s full’ the vessels of her life, she alludes to the inner dialogue, constant struggles and conflicts of universal being engaged in growth and at the same time conscious of nearing the other end, said Fatima Hamid, curator of the show.
Dr. Shahida Mansoor is the first recipient of Doctor Degree in the field of Japanese Woodblock Printmaking from Tokyo National University of Art and Music. She received some major art awards while living and working in Japan (Tawara Award, Machida City Award Japan and her works were selected twice for Hida Takayama Contemporary Woodblock Print Biennale, Japan ). Her works are well received at home and abroad as these are the juxtapositions of Japanese aesthetics and local sensibilities.
