Art is becoming a medium to express human feelings, and young artists in the capital of Balochistan province are exhibiting their theses for visitors before they embark on their professional careers. These artistic pieces on display in Quetta cover a range of themes including language, culture, mental health, recycling, climate change, wildlife, refugees, migrations, local culture suffocation, and species extinction. Young artists have been calling upon rulers, policymakers, and leaders to make decisions that secure a peaceful and loving environment, instead of fostering hatred, division, and otherisation. Balochistan boasts one of the largest levels of human diversity in the region, where different languages, cultures, ethnicities, and religious groups have coexisted since prehistoric times.
Zahra Batool Hazara, an artist from Marriabad, Quetta, and a member of the persecuted Hazara community, studies fine arts at the University of Balochistan. Her art piece was displayed along with those of other fine arts students at an art gallery in the university, as part of an exhibition held from the 14th to the 17th of May 2024.
These theses represent the final projects of the students, and the exhibition took place at the University of Balochistan sub-campus on the outskirts of Quetta city.
“Childhood is one of the most beautiful phases of life where we don’t know the language of hate, only love. We are peaceful, with no jealousy, no comparison, no race, and no competition. We are unaware of any religion, caste, colour, creed, or custom. Childhood leaves a memory in our heart and soul, so it should be recalled in every phase of life. If a person’s childhood is lost, we are left only with demons,” says Zahra Batool Hazara, whose thesis focuses on childhood.
According to Zahra, humans complete their psychological journey in childhood, and memories from that age become lifelong companions. Artists produce their inner child feelings through their love, hate, likes, and dislikes, expressed through visuals, music, sculpture, and paintings. Artists become leaders, showcasing their culture, history, psychology, politics, rights, and feelings through these artistic expressions.
Another student theme was “Human Creation and Human Mess,” where the artist created a sculpture of a human using dough and clay, encased in a black plastic bag. This work clearly emphasises recycling and reusing waste materials, addressing one of the significant issues of climate change and global warming. The global community advocates for minimising waste, and through his art, Sadaat Khan aims to raise awareness about recycling and reusing items to maintain a clean and tidy world for future generations.
The main message of this piece is the contrast between human creation and the mess humans generate. While humans are created in an organised and structured manner, history shows that we have increasingly created messes. Organic materials are turned into inorganic waste, leading to diseases and environmental degradation. A prime example is plastic bags, which were invented to ease carrying goods but are now non-biodegradable pollutants that harm our planet and health. Sadaat Khan, 25, a young artist, suggests replacing plastic bags with cloth bags to mitigate this issue.
Sadaat Khan’s vision is deeply connected to the recent devastating effects of climate change in Balochistan. Flash floods and prolonged droughts have disrupted water tables, led to human migrations to urban areas like Quetta, and caused overpopulation and urbanisation challenges. These experiences have shaped Khan’s perceptions and artistic ideas.
Wajid, a Baloch student, expresses concern over the decline of native languages in Balochistan. He recalls using wooden writing boards in his childhood, particularly in schools to improve handwriting. Over time, technological advancements have replaced these boards with electronic books, and English has become more dominant than national languages due to a lingering colonial mindset. This shift, he argues, is not supported by the people or the state, and local languages like Pashto, Balochi, Brahui, Hazaragi, and others are threatened by popular culture and Western ideologies.
Wajid points out that many countries prioritise their native languages. In China, for instance, foreigners must learn the local language, and many European countries also prioritise their languages. He believes that the shift from natural tools to digital technologies has diminished human creativity. Wajid, a final-year Fine Arts student, emphasises the importance of preserving and fostering national languages to maintain cultural identity and creativity.
Syed Yawar Abbas has depicted the obstacles of life through his sketches, titling his work “Ups and Downs of Life.” He explained that life is balanced by opposing factors and referenced Karl Marx’s dialectical materialism, where thesis, antithesis, and synthesis bring us to the global village we live in. He stated that there is no happiness without pain, and no problem without a solution. Life operates on dualities—light is meaningless without darkness. He emphasised that youth should never be disheartened, especially in this era of stress, anxiety, and trauma. Many young people quickly lose hope and succumb to depression and anxiety. Life is inherently challenging, and we often remain unaware of others’ struggles, said Syed Yawar, an Urdu-speaking resident of Quetta, known locally as Quettawall.
