International artist Saima Jamil recently had her first Pakistani exhibition titled Rihaai at Studio Seven. The exhibition showcased a series of stunning oil paintings focusing and symbolizing an individual’s journey towards personal freedom. For all those who missed out the opening of the exhibit on 10th December, you can still check out the body of work as the show will continue till 17th December. For Rihaai, Saima Jamil opted for oil on canvas with dark black backgrounds. The paintings were symbolic of the artists aspirations towards freedom – a freedom which each individual human being has a yearning for. Jamil used her inspirations, renowned Sufi poets, Rumi and Shams of Tabraiz, to navigate the beholders attention through each painting. Due to the fact that each individual lives their life in accordance with the perspective of society and is, on some level, forced to mold themselves to comply to these values, we seek this inner transformation to connect back to our authentic selves and try to divert our own demons as a catalyst for personal development. Within the privacy of our own thoughts we secretly have this innate desire for freedom. Each person goes through this struggle within the confines of their own mind. These paintings were representative of the journey of breaking free from the shackles of mundane social constructs as well as constraints of our own thoughts and becoming ultimately liberated through realizing or accepting oneself completely. The artwork reflected one’s personal experience of returning to their soul, independent from another’s point of view. The paintings had a black background representative of the darkness in the world, whereas the colours in the painting project the light within each individual, wanting to be unleashed as they trek towards personal freedom and the projection of the goodness in humanity. The series progressed into paintings of whirling dervishes as they are symbolic of the ultimate liberation in the artist’s perspective The paintings had a black background representative of the darkness in the world, whereas the colours in the painting project the light within each individual, wanting to be unleashed as they trek towards personal freedom and the projection of the goodness in humanity. The series progressed into paintings of whirling dervishes as they are symbolic of the ultimate liberation in the artist’s perspective. Jamil views this as the final destination, where the mind, body and soul merge as one. The series lead to a point where the person has finally reached a state where they can dance and feel the light within their soul. This was Jamil’s first exhibition in Pakistan and we cannot wait to check out what this dexterous artist does next!