Many, all over the world, were thrown into a frenzy as a result of a recent protest at the Louvre. Dressed as an elderly woman in a wheelchair, a young man managed to sneak up to the Mona Lisa and smear cake against the glass protection before being dragged away screaming,

“Think about the Earth. There are people who are destroying the Earth. Think about it … all artists, think about the Earth — this is why I did this. Think about the planet.”

While many people condemned the act as being disrespectful, it did beg to bring to attention the question of whether this protestor’s message could have reached the heights of publicity it did, had it not been for the notability of the chosen venue or painting.  What’s more, it invites an interesting debate; did this outlandish performance work well to highlight the issue it was meant to— a call-to-action to save our planet— or did it divert the conversation altogether towards a deep concern for a non-living commodity that bears an ambiguous portrait from the sixteenth century?

Whatever the case, this act was not meant as a solution, but rather as a siren, ringing loud and painful in the hopes of alerting its audience to a very harsh reality. Similarly, the works displayed at the Canvas Gallery attempted to open a window into the impending destruction awaiting our earth. Titled Before the End of Time the group exhibition, curated by Quddus Mirza, displayed an array of contemporary pieces.

Anthropocene refers to the significant impact human activity has had on the planet in recent years, which includes shifted landscapes, increased temperatures, and insurmountable waste. In his paintings, Shahid Malik captures these frightening times. As a result of the increased amount of human intervention within the natural world, we have morphed the natural landscape into one piled with manmade garbage, much of which is non-degradable and hazardous. Instead of just concrete buildings, man has also erected towers of waste which have now become synonymous with their world.

Expeditions 1- Dams is a series of digital prints that highlight the journey of the Pak Khawateen Painting Club through places of hydrological power. What  appears as seemingly simple documentation of spaces, is in-fact layered with allegorical narratives underlining struggles of power, gender, and modernity. The Pak Khawateen Painting Club¹, composed of a small group of contemporary female artists, investigate ideas of power struggles and displacement through the histories surrounding the country’s hydrological engineering. In this particular series of works, we see these women trudge along, through places that are predominantly male-oriented and as a result there is a visual distinction between the male workers and these women. Alongside, and perhaps more pertinent to the crux of this exhibition, is how these works also highlight areas of indigenous and natural land that have been wiped away; to be replaced with such large commercial projects. More so, one realizes that although these lands once belonged to the natives, the distanced rich are the ones that will likely reap large majority of rewards through power structures and plutocracy.

While several illustrate the harmful and rippling effects of mankind through various mediums, it is Hooria Khan and Haider Ali Naqvi who depict their visual narrative through experimental materiality. In the case of Khan, the artist uses handmade paper to paint; and the treatment of the paper is what makes the work powerful. Alongside the rough, unrefined texture of each sheet, the artist also treats each one with a layer of fungi, which causes further wear-and-tear and discoloration. Juxtaposed with delicate miniature paintings, the artist creates an intriguing dynamic that aptly symbolizes the decay and destruction of the world at the hands of humans.

Similarly, Naqvi displays sheets of paper that have been aged and abraded, both by man and nature. The discoloration and damage serve as drawings which are preserved and displayed in a single still image; visual metaphors of  experiences and journeys through a world pulverized by men and desire.