Pakistan’s Atif Khan cooperates with British, Australian artists to bring audiences ‘visual dialogue’ across cultures
Celebration exhibition in Karachi.
KARACHI:
An exhibition titled Celebration in Karachi has brought together the collaborative works of Pakistani artist Mohammad Atif Khan with British artist Sarah Hopkins and Australian artist Damon Kowarski, offering audiences what the artist describes as a “visual dialogue” across cultures.
The show features a total of 58 artworks, produced through two separate collaborative projects. Khan worked on one series with Hopkins and another with Kowarski. However, the three artists did not jointly work on a single canvas.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Khan said the central idea behind the exhibition was celebration through creative exchange.
“The theme of this exhibition is ‘Celebration’. It is essentially a creative dialogue between three artists. I was involved in both projects, but Sarah and Damon did not collaborate directly with each other,” he explained.
Khan, who is based in Lahore, says his surroundings and cultural heritage naturally inform his work.
“I live in Lahore, so the cultural elements here glimpses of Mughal miniature painting and scenes from my environment find their way into my art. Whatever excites or inspires me becomes part of the composition,” he said.
Sarah Hopkins, meanwhile, is based in Swansea, a coastal city in Wales. According to Khan, her work reflects the atmosphere of the seaside.
“In Sarah’s work, you see reflections of light, especially from the coast at dusk when birds gather by the shore. The houses and coastal landscape are very much part of her visual language,” he noted.
Damon Kowarski, who lives in Melbourne, incorporates elements of his urban environment, particularly high-rise buildings and cityscapes, into his contributions.
Describing the collaborative process, Khan compared it to poets completing each other’s couplets.
“It’s like one poet writes a line of verse and passes it on for another to complete. I would send a visual idea, and it was up to the other artist to transform it into something meaningful and aesthetically engaging,” he said.
He acknowledged that such collaboration can be challenging, particularly for artists accustomed to working independently in their studios.
“When you work alone, you have the freedom to reject anything. But when another artist sends you an element, you cannot simply dismiss it. The challenge is to imagine how to integrate it into a cohesive whole,” he explained.
Khan recalled one instance that highlighted the unpredictability of the process. Kowarski sent him an image that appeared to depict a horned animal. Interpreting it as a large, possibly ancient creature, Khan incorporated it into a composition showing it tied to a loader vehicle, as if being transported.
“Later, when the work was completed, he told me it was actually a small traditional toy from their Aboriginal culture. He laughed and asked how I had imagined it to be so large,” Khan said.
Technically, the works fall under the category of printmaking, though they incorporate a mix of methods.
“In the project with Sarah, she mostly used manual screen prints. I incorporated hand stamping and digital prints as well,” Khan explained.
Reflecting on the broader importance of art, Khan said it plays a vital role in enriching daily life.
“If there were no art, life would be dull and dry. Art is already part of our lives, but many people feel intimidated by it or try to avoid it. It is not as complicated as we sometimes think. Everyone can choose a genre or school of thought that resonates with them,” he said.
He added that art does not necessarily aim to spark revolution but can instead introduce sensitivity and beauty into ordinary experience.
The exhibition in Karachi stands as an example of how artistic collaboration can transcend geographical boundaries, creating new forms of dialogue through shared imagination.
