The expression of creative beings in the field of art today constitutes a fusion of reality and fantasy addressed by myriad influences and experience. In each society, the environment of the artist, aspects of humanity; love, despair, beauty, as well as expanding perceptions are introducing new realities in voices which audiences strive to absorb. While aesthetic sense directs viewers to see works of art in certain contexts, it is originality that creates a yardstick of artistic significance. In Pakistan at the present time, there is a tremendous outpouring of talent among younger painters who are making their way in the world of international art with growing interest and appreciation.

One of the upcoming young women painters who are increasingly gaining a gallery niche is Saqiba Haq, a graduate of the College of Art and Design, Punjab University, (2005) and currently a lecturer with the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab. Since her graduation her work viewed in exhibition has made an impact on art enthusiasts and the media who praised the handling of form, colour and composition. In her work, Saqiba appears to muse on the transition that takes place in passing years when the young girl must take her place in the world and assume adult responsibility.

The focus of creativity in her work is the figure of a young woman who is the soul of personal emotions. At times the artist lays care aside finding relief in a private fantasy world of escape, initiating a wellspring of relief for the viewer, sheer delight that one may enjoy viewing over and over again; invariably finding a new aspect to surprise the eye. Working with oil on canvas, the artist skillfully devises a world of magic realism with vistas that tempt the viewer to enter the canvas and explore other dimensions. In these paintings one finds the central subject exquisitely painted, elegantly depicting all the charm and vulnerability of youth. Seldom is the face of the subject seen as the artist interacts with settings that initiate a dramatic dialogue, the mood enhanced by rich colouration and diverse shapes and textures.

Saqiba’s compositions skillfully manipulate subtle patterns, and it is their piquant diversity that adds excitement to the visual imagery surrounding the introspection of the young soul. The movement of brushstrokes in the work leads the observer on a path of design that heightens the feeling of glimpsing another person’s interior life. There are `backdrops’ as settings that suggest a plethora of moods and emotions. Images of the stages of life are particularly moving; the composition that places a girl in a room that represents childhood finds her surrounded by loving symbols. There are soft toys, family pets and the familiar trappings of adolescence. With practiced ease the artist evokes the mixed feelings of trepidation that come with different stages of life.

Perhaps symbolizing a world of her own creation, in some paintings one finds the subject surrounded by large, beautiful flowers, other exotic images that are perhaps the release found in dreams - however temporary. Throughout the work the subject is oblivious of the observer’s gaze and portrayed in interpretations that are many layered. The work is fascinating, inviting many levels of interpretation and Saqiba Haq leaves it open-ended knowing the viewer will narrate the story according to personal experience.

Despite the adherence to figurative realism, the artist’s work remains modernist in flavor, well balanced compositions forming a unified whole. With elements that skillfully relate to each other creating an encounter between the artwork and the audience that is unique, instigating new interpretations.