Body Extensions: Imran Hunzai’s extraordinary world
Islamabad: Enter the magical world of Imran Hunzai and everything gets a different meaning. In his world the mundane is extraordinary and the abnormal is normal, relevant and even necessary.
Motherboards, colorfully twisted wires, tissue paper and other discarded items find new identity in the work of Imran, who teaches at the National College of Arts, Rawalpindi, as an Assistant Professor. He had graduated from the same college almost 8 years ago, in 2006.
Imran recently displayed his work at Satrang Gallery in Islamabad. Titled “Body Extensions”, the art works was done using outdated computer parts. Making use of the outdated and the mundane, beautifying it, giving it a new meaning, and turning it into a piece of art is inspiring and it offers vistas for reflection and refinement.
The use of electronic waste to create these works of art will be seen differently by different people. That the art works are called Body Extensions most likely means that these gadgets are now parts of our body and we use them to ‘beautify’, decorate and enhance our own beauty. This can also be seen as a critique of the society which increasingly depends and relies on more and more on gadgets and brands, with a sense of amusement, curiosity, and, uncertainty; because the world of gadgets is always in flux.
Technology is a vital part of our lives and they have become parts of our daily lives to such a large extent that we cannot survive without them for too long. And since we have to live with the gadgets, we want them to look beautiful, expensive and reflective of our real or desired persona. These get reflected in Imran Hunzai’s usage of outdated gadgets for making necklaces, rings and other ornaments.
