Indus Valley gets fired up about legendary ceramist Mian Salahuddin

review by Asad Faruqi

The Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture organized a retrospective exhibition to commemorate the work of Mian Salahuddin, Pakistan’s foremost ceramist, on Monday.
The event was produced in collaboration with Pakistan’s leading art schools - the National College of Arts in Lahore and IVS in Karachi. IVS Executive Director Samina Raees Khan said that it was a unique collaboration between a public-sector institute and a private-sector institute.
The event exhibited Mian Salahuddin’s work in the form of a book called ‘Born of Fire’, a documentary called ‘Yeh Kiya Hai’ and an exhibition displaying his work gathered from a number of collectors and admirers. The show launched January 28 and will go up to February 28.
Mian Salahuddin is known as the first ceramist to emerge from Pakistan. Born in 1938 in the town of Kasur, he graduated from NCA where he later taught and headed the Ceramics department.
Art critic Majorie Hussain said that his work was hard to describe. “His ceramics and sculptures were way before their time.” Commenting on the documentary, Hussain said that she wished such a film had been made in Mian Salahuddin’s lifetime because it would have made a lot of difference. However, had he been in any other society he would have been treated differently, and been allowed to work without being bothered by students.
One of Mian Salahuddin’s closest associates, stamp designer Adil Salahuddin, said that his last wish would be to have a stamp in his name. Commenting on the event, Adil said that there was no better way to project a personality.
“Excellent” was how Mohsin Jaffri, another close friend of Mian Salahuddin, described the work. “Everyone thought that he was close to me. It was a relationship that we developed over the years. He used to spend Sundays with my family,” said Jaffri. He outlined three features that shaped Mian Salahuddin’s work - traditional, Islamic and contemporary. “He was inspired by the soil he was born in,” Mohsin added.
Designer and painter Noorjehan Bilgrami is a founding member of the IVS and author of the book ‘Born of Fire’ which highlights the work of the great artist. She said that he had inspired her a lot. The book, documentary and exhibition have been put up with the intention of preserving Mian Salahuddin’s name, she added.
IVS Gallery Curator Usman Ghori said that collecting the artwork had been hard. He was extremely grateful for the contributions from the owners. “It is difficult to communicate with and convince people. The sculptures are also fragile and handling is a difficult task,” he said.
He said that these types of events were important for aspiring students. “Pakistan needs ceramic artists. Ceramic art is an old heritage and must be there for the students to know about. Clay reflects your personality and is an amazing form of art,” he said.
Mian Salahuddin passed away on the night of February 28, 2006. However, his legacy remains for people to observe and be inspired by.