Syed Sadequain’s life and career traverse the birth and history of Pakistan. Untitled (Lady with Diya), 1950s–1960s, is characteristic of the formally reduced style Sadequain developed early on in his career. Painted in dark subdued tones and bearing thinly hatched lines, a nude female figure with an oblong face and elongated body occupies the centre of the composition. She holds up a diya – a traditional South Asian oil lamp – in her right hand. The audaciousness of the subject matter, with its overt sexual connotation, is reinforced by her assertive, upright pose. But the work also opens up other readings. A crescent moon appears through a window to the right. At a symbolic level, the nude figure holding a diya evokes Hindu rituals, while the crescent moon can be interpreted as a reference to Islam. This syncretism and the sexualised rendering of the work attest to the daring that would sustain Sadequain throughout his creative life.
This is the first time the work of Syed Sadequain is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Devika Singh
