In paintings by Zarah David, the uncluttered, translucent method she employs is far from a photographic representation. One finds the artist’s handling of colour and surface textures evoke impressions of eerily beautiful settings seen from a wistful distance and charged with anticipation - waiting to be explored. The work encapsulates a surreal panorama; at times the observer imagines he is viewing the world through rain wet windows. Contrasts of diffused light and darker areas, sometimes eschewing colour, create an atmospheric setting adding a strong personal note in the contemporary observation of the painter. Studying each scenario in depth, one becomes aware of the complexity of the symbolism employed in the compositions in which the artist appears to question established concepts of landscape genre.

AA cardinal challenge in the genre of landscape painting is to convey feelings through the representation of light and shade. It may not necessarily refer to an actual location, or as in the paintings of the Impressionists, there may be actual places that disclose a personal impact rather than offering a realistic account. It is an art that has been extremely popular through history, during periods of concentrated urban development, when city dwellers decorated their walls with paintings of quiet countryside to refresh their spirits. As Leonardo da Vinci recorded:

“…if the painter wishes to produce places or deserts, or shady and cool spots in hot weather, he can depict them, and similarly warm places in cold weather. If he seeks valleys, if he wants to disclose great expanses of countryside from the summits of high mountains, and if he subsequently wishes to see the horizons of the sea, he is lord of them…”

One senses that Zarah David has created a unique viewpoint in the guise of the classic genre while actually reflecting an inner landscape of recalled emotions. An artist based in Lahore, Zarah is the daughter of two artists renowned in their fields; Anna Molka Ahmed, who established the department of fine arts at the Punjab University in 1940, and Sheikh Ahmed, the uncompromising traditionalist. Zarah was raised in an art setting, where her parents views on art differed greatly and strong arguments were part of their routine. Sheikh Ahmed, who separated from the family and moved to Karachi in the 50s, was loudly critical of modern art movements, denigrating the attempts made by younger artists to explore and widen their artistic possibilities. Anna Molka, though strictly adhering to the discipline of art study, was spontaneous in her desire to paint the colours she saw reflected in the rays of the sun. In the forgotten shadows of past memories, the warring opinions are perhaps rekindled in the veiled nuances of Zarah’s views.

During her years as an art student at the Punjab University, painting `en plein air’ was an important part of the art curriculum encouraging students to address nature directly. In Zarah’s work some vestiges of this training are glimpsed though the work makes no attempt to literally describe that experience. Physical reality is merely a reference though one senses the freedom of imagined landscapes of mystical quietude and beauty. She was a first class student, a gold medalist of whom her mother had high hopes. Instead of continuing her art studies abroad, as her mother intended, Zarah married Colin David, and a breach ensued that lasted throughout Anna Molka’s life. Though Zarah’s marriage ended, the wounds were never healed.

Zarah, had also studied music from childhood and is equally qualified in that field. Perhaps because of her childhood experience, she made her career in the field of music while continuing to express her views on canvas. For years enjoying a love of painting without thought of exhibition is also an echo of the past where she has followed in her mother’s footsteps. While contributing annually to the Group displays organized by the Artist’s Association in Lahore, her first extensive solo exhibition was held in Karachi, 2006. Her work proved appealing to public tastes and another solo display followed in 2007, participation in group exhibitions held in Lahore and Islamabad; including the display mounted for the opening of the National Art Gallery. A late bloomer, Zarah, is delighted by the public appreciation of her work, and is openly engaged full time in creating an enigmatic world.