An interview with artist Naqsh Raj
Naqsh Raj is exhibiting alongside Fiona Moate and Vic Wright in the exhibition 'Holding Up', at Mura Ma 8-23 March 2024
An exhibition of artworks by three artists, Fiona Moate, Naqsh Raj and Vic Wright opens at Mura Ma Art Space on Friday 8 March.
Titled, ‘Holding Up’ the exhibition draws together artists devoted to process, place and form and have each developed their own visual language in their art-making, be it painting or sculpture.
Opening on the eve of International Women’s Day 2024, the theme of this exhibition has been inspired by the book of illustrations and writing by American artist Maira Kalman, called ‘Women Holding Things’.
Naqsh Raj is a painter who recently returned to Pakistan after living in the UK for two years. Her rhythmic compositions on large scale canvases are the result of a painstaking process of building and restoring order to her work.
Raj believes in the strong connection between visual aesthetics and ethics, both in a continuous process of reform. Her ongoing work is a union of mechanical and manual methods of painting; the mundanity of making repetitive marks with human hands is the symbolism in her imagery. Taking possession of an empty space through relentless exertion has been her prime interest and embracing imperfection is a natural part of her current art practice.
Interview conducted over email, January/February 2024
Your work tends to be on a large scale, what is it about this particular size and scale that suits you?
There can be several reasons for my artistic choices. As a child, I was expressive, never discouraged from scribbling on my house walls. Having a limitless surface to work on was normal from the day I first held a marker or pencil.
My work is not detailed but labour-based, and larger scale pieces appeal more. Even the simplest approach involves a lot of labour, so size complements my intention to practice consistency. Larger sizes symbolise my dedication to painting, much like my deep respect for manual laborers.
I mainly work on square canvases for balance. Larger paintings have one side as 7 feet, matching door heights, resulting in sizes like 7 feet by 8, 9, or 10 feet. Smaller works are challenging, needing unexpected happenings to pull me in. I give more time to resolve smaller works.
Can you explain your connection to printmaking and how it helped you to develop your work.
I love the magical technique of printing. In college, I majored in painting and chose printing as my minor. Stencilling, a primitive printing stage, helps me stay organized for specific hours.
After graduating, I didn't use printing in my work for a long time. It changed when I shifted from representation to an independent language. Initially, seeing works by artists like Paul Klee and Agnes Martin made me doubt, especially when I found similar works. What keeps me going is the difference in technique or process. I always enjoyed tricks like tracing, stencilling, or making prints from various objects.
While mass production is fascinating, for me, printing has given me a pattern. Being impatient, using a stencil gives me a reason to wait and rest simultaneously. It helps me control my radical behavior and wait for the right time to be myself. So, it's a mix of learned behavior and my own organic self.
You attended the Lahore school of art for your MA, which is a prestigious school, what was that like and how did it impact upon the development of your work?
At NCA (National College of Arts), my artistic desires clashed a bit. Experimentation and inventive thinking weren't directly part of the academic training. However, it was a good experience networking-wise.
How did you develop your language of abstraction, can you explain how that came about?
I was popular in school for winning several important interschool art competitions. Most had specific themes like "Save the Earth" or "Paintings with Flowers." One day, the principal called me to her office and told me about another art competition with a tricky theme: "Non-Objective Form." I got scared because I didn't know how to approach it.
To get ideas, I went to the school's library and found a reference book on paintings. I came across Kandinsky's work, which seemed completely without objects. I tried to memorize one of his paintings. The next day, I participated in the competition. I used oil pastels to recreate what I remembered. It wasn't an exact copy, as my medium was different, and I relied on my memory as a reference. I enjoyed the experience, and this memory stayed with me until I entered my academic training.
BFA:
I completed my undergraduate studies at an underprivileged institution, the University of Balochistan. They focused on live studies without much emphasis on conceptual understanding. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a better experience than pursuing a master's degree at the National College of Arts.
At the University of Balochistan, the curriculum was assignment-based, centered around life studies like still life, figure painting, and landscapes. During this time, I developed an interest in portraiture, finding it challenging. I mastered it, and for my final thesis, which required a human figure, I reconstructed the Last Supper. I received a Gold medal for my BFA.
Taking this painting with me to Lahore, I submitted it to the Young Artist Award, where it also received an award. Do you notice my natural inclination for grid arrangement in this work?
Last Supper (Reconstruction) BFA thesis 2008 - Gold Medal and YOUNG ARTIST AWARD
I learned a lot about paint and surfaces during my academic journey. I wasn't overly dependent on my teachers; I preferred being a self-learner. One teacher I admired was my art history instructor, who had an excellent grasp of the subject. He taught us art history chronologically, more informatively than critically, up to the DADA movement.
Curiosity led me to explore further, and I wanted to place Kandinsky in art history. I bought my own book, "Art Through the Ages," and started from Jackson Pollock. I was particularly interested in Clement Greenberg's philosophies in art. Abstract expression resonated with me, especially during the turbulent times in Balochistan in 2008, marked by the aftermath of 9/11. Prominent leaders in Balochistan were assassinated, creating fear in Quetta, the capital.
Amid this turmoil, my interest in meaning and concept declined to zero. This emotional state made me distance myself from representation. When I entered NCA, my shift from meaningful to meaningless representation continued. Despite my teachers' expectations for me to paint big ideas, like the Last Supper I constructed in BFA, I lost interest.
MA:
In my MA at NCA, you can see a hint of both abstraction and representation in my works. I started some abstract pieces with simple lines and thin layers but faced discouragement.
I went back to observation, but this time without representation. Somehow, I managed to pass my MA and then moved to Islamabad because I got married and started teaching.
Right after completing my MA, I participated in an international residency with VASL. In the images, you can notice a loosen brushwork, indicating my fatigue from working with references. This still life features discarded materials I found outside the residency studio. I brought trash inside to make a somewhat illogical statement. Later, I created a beautiful wooden box with mirror work, a common craft here, to present the still life more seriously. I felt frustrated during this time. My interest in drawing diminished, and I started tracing, using projectors to create my art.
OYSTERSHELL(Vasl Residency) 2011
My love for simplified arrangement can also be seen here in the mirror work
I started using photographic manipulations to create more abstract and meaning-free representations. Because I was now tracing and using tools like projectors, I completely unlearned my drawing skills simply because I lost interest. My lack of interest in representation and skills left me feeling stuck and fearful.
Van Dyke Brown:
One day, I had my daughter help me take a print from her Teddy bear onto a discarded canvas (visible on the left side). After this experimentation, I felt a strong pull towards it. So, one day, I applied a thin wash to the area where the bear was painted. By this time, I was familiar with various art styles, from classical to Mughal to abstract expression.
A few days after the wash, I made my first mark through a stencil because I wasn't ready to work freehand—I was scared. The only thing on my mind was to fill a surface to a point of completion. Completion became crucial to me because none of my paintings, even from my thesis years, reached a satisfying level. If you look at the reconstruction of the Last Supper, you'll find unfinished areas.
Everything changed for me when I started teaching. It gave me a sense of authority and allowed me to practice my will slowly. It took a few years to bring everything together and establish a practice. Isolation played a crucial role; I wasn't showing my work to too many people.
I met Nargis Khalid (may she rest in peace), who lived in the US but moved to Pakistan. She was a practicing artist herself. During her visit to my studio, she made me realize the potential of the stencil-based work I was developing slowly. Thank God I finally found someone. I tried to capture this moment in one of my Instagram posts. Here's the link:
Finally, I made the decision to submit my stencil-based painting (Van Dyke Brown) to an open call by a gallery in Islamabad. The gallery owner, a self-taught painter who is also an MBBS doctor, organized an award-based open call. To my delight, I was awarded the third prize in 2017.
It feels like colour is a highly significant force in your work, can you tell us more about this?
Van Dyke Brown introduced earth tones into my work. I delved into experimenting to capture the pleasure of Van Dyke Brown's hues. Between 2017 and 2020, I primarily used earth tones, but I found it challenging and a bit monotonous.In my search for a new approach, I discovered oil paint sticks as an ideal medium for stencilling. I wanted to explore if this new medium would fit my practice, and fortunately, it worked well. You can witness the introduction of color in the artwork below.
I purchased oil paint sticks from the US, but they aren't available in Pakistan. To find a substitute, I discovered chalk pens, mainly in fluorescent shades. While working in the UK, I could use both mediums together, making it a great time for me to paint because the art supplies were excellent.
In my search for a new approach, I discovered oil paint sticks as an ideal medium for stencilling. I wanted to explore if this new medium would fit my practice, and fortunately, it worked well. You can witness the introduction of color in the artwork below.
Size : 10 feet x 7 feet - 2017
What is next for you – are you working again now you are in Pakistan? How do you think place affects the way in which you work? Can you describe where you are now, the colours, the environment and the atmosphere.
I've returned to Pakistan with a lot of confidence in my art practice. I'm determined to create new pieces and maintain my connections with the galleries I worked with in the UK, Germany, and Dubai. I'm also planning to enhance my techniques to produce more artwork in less time. My artistic taste is evolving rapidly, so I want to speed up my process to keep up with it.
Displacement has significantly altered my circumstances, influencing my mood patterns and shaping my choices in palettes, sizes, and mediums. I allow changes to happen naturally, and I believe that the environment deeply influences artistic practice, manifesting itself in subtle and indirect ways.
I reside in the outskirts of Islamabad City, in a farmhouse surrounded by green fields of various crops. Here, we witness farmers and their wives cultivating the land and sewing seeds using primitive methods, as it is an underdeveloped country. They put in tremendous effort to earn their livelihood and put bread on the table.
I am developing a studio in this tranquil environment, where I can hear birds chirping, cows grazing with bells around their necks, and occasional bikers passing by. It's a quiet place, and you can catch a glimpse in the image below, with the gray wall dividing the crop field and our house garden.
Naqsh Raj 2024
Naqsh Raj is one of three artists in the exhibition 'Holding Up', at Mura Ma 8-23 March 2024Mura Ma
Mura Ma Art Space For catalogue of available work email hello@murama.co.uk