Iqbal Geoffrey

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Iqbal Geoffrey

Collages: eccentric link-ups

By Sadaf Siddiqui

Dawn

Iqbal Geoffrey

Unorthodox, innovative and iconoclastic — this is how many people describe Iqbal Geoffrey’s abstract works. Geoffrey’s transliteration of his surname, being a twist to his family name of ‘Jafree’, represents not only his own self but the present-day society as well. For it seemingly appears to be a blend of eastern and western elements or perhaps Geoffrey’s stance of creating a balance between traditions and modernity.

His latest work, titled ‘New portrayals and pinups’, was displayed at NCA’s Zahoor-ul-Akhlaq Gallery throughout the month of Ramzan. Geoffrey’s unique entities are credited as comprehensive and compelling pictorials assembled from diverse components. Clippings from the print media and films, use of postage stamps, miniature paintings and contemporary art, coins and currency notes and even Geoffrey’s personally-written notes lead one through the thought processes of the artist.

Iqbal Geoffrey

In the words of Quddus Mirza, the curator of the show, “Geoffrey’s art is subject to perpetual transformation and change.” He even stated that once the present show ends, Geoffrey’s entire work shall acquire a different appearance in his next exhibition.

Art, for Geoffrey, is about fully engaging in concepts that relate to everyday living. Simple and mundane activities when looked at from Geoffrey’s canvases reveal multilateral meanings.

Iqbal Geoffrey

Fusions by the artist depict many personalities presented to the onlooker in unusual scenarios, many a times not even resembling the actual person. Yet elements within the pictorial are specific to individuals, making one see the person through the eyes of the artist himself. And as one contemplates on one portrayal or pin-up and the next, one gets nearer to understanding Iqbal Geoffrey himself.

Queen Elizabath II, Queen Rania of Jordan, Sir Francis Bacon, Naiza Khan, Madhubala, Sri Devi, Mao Ze Dong, Mahatma Gandhi and Pervez Musharraf are just some of the personalities depicted as Geoffrey’s subjects of study. He even has one self-portrait, one of Salima Hashmi in a burka shopping for a Pakistani sculpture and Madhubala depicted in one after having breakfast of halva-puree at the Royal Park.

Cardboards strewn with paint and mixed media, almost all of Geoffrey’s works are priced at Rs. 78,600. Renowned worldwide, Geoffrey is a British-Pakistani who studied law from Harvard. His collages and abstract works have been praised by the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, former US Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and art critic Professor Norbert Lynton.

What stands out repeatedly in his creations is that Geoffrey is not cowed down by authority and in fact challenges the status quo, wherever it may be.