Nude rebellion

It's contemporary art and not, as might be thought by many, Islamic art, but that is exists at all may come as a surprise to many in India.

For art hasn't exactly been encouraged by Islamic societies, and in Pakistan contemporary art was frowned upon, more so under the General Zia ul Haq regime.

But survive it did, nurtured by women artists (it wasn't seen as an activity that would allow men to be major breadwinners), and Prof Quddus Mirza of the National College of Arts, Lahore, says: "A lot of issues related to women and their suppression have found active expression" in Pakistan because, unlike in India, women painters far outnumber the men.

Today, that expression is drawing art lovers to the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai where Saryu Doshi has curated the show, Beyond Borders (till March 17).

This is not the first time Pakistani art has been seen in India "" there was a recent joint show in Delhi "" but it may be the largest-ever retrospective of Pakistani art after independence to be seen in the country.

It's apparent that the movement hasn't grown as significantly as in India, that it is still at an elementary stage of development due to decades of regressive regimes.

Thus the need to rebel, as seen in the many artists who have worked with nudes as their study. "Women artists have given new voices and form to women's issues," says Doshi.

"They've found different ways to express feminist issues. For instance, the way they've tackled subjects like nudity and the human form." But at another level, it has also spawned the opportunity to explore the spaces within the formal, classical miniature painting, and experiment with its style.

It is here that there is significant contribution from Nusra Latif Querishi, for instance, or even Bashir Mirza. Says new media artist Rashid Rana, "I love miniatures. But a rough outline of Akbar in miniature style, if you look closely, you'll be able to assocciate it with the bombardment of messages in our society today."

In India, sadly, the art of the miniature has not taken off, whereas even in the UK, the Kaur sisters have given it a unique, contemporary "" even iconic "" intepretation.

This is despite Pakistan not devoting too much public space to art. Artist Imran Mir who rues the lack of large galleries in Pakistan, is now working out of his studio on increasingly larger canvases, enjoying the respite, even encouragement, that has begun to warm contemporary ateliers in the country.

"We've always found ways to work around the system, or within it," he confesses. But artists are no longer being marginalised by the state, Doshi feels. "Imagery is no longer being controlled," she says.

And, giving voice to Pakistani artists as they begin to work their way of the chyrsalis, Prof Mirza says: "Pakistani painters too have engaged with ideas that are connected with society and their work speaks an international language."