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Rohta 2: Ali Azmat painting the in between

By Alina Amjad

LAHORE: A subculture emerges when a subjective form of deviance is shared by a group of people. In a society marred with intolerance towards deviance, subcultures are either glorified or demeaned.

One such marginalised subculture is that of eunuchs, which comes into being because of the group’s “variant similarities”: dancers at weddings and newborn celebrations, beggars in the street, criminals and extortionists to some, sex workers at night and eccentric human beings when alone.

Art enthusiasts thronged Rohtas 2, Model Town, on Monday for a one-day preview of Ali Azmat’s collection of paintings, titled Moorat – a reflection of the subculture of eunuchs.

Azmat explores the topic that is widely perceived a taboo in a fairly conservative society. The word Moorat is a colloquial that eunuchs use to define themselves: a female soul trapped in a masculine body. Often used as a last name, Moorat signifies the confluence of the nonconformists’ desires, interests and aspirations. And a eunuch for the hoi polloi is a deviant personality, a “freak” for his or her peculiarities.

Azmat told Daily Times he had always been fascinated by human figures. He not only liked canvassing the expressions inherent in human bodies, but also had a penchant to expose the art behind expressions. His new works expose eunuch relationships, their lifestyle, their problems, the human beings that they are and the people they are perceived to be. His inspiration stems from his sympathy for the community, which in his words, is as “disabled” as any other disabled community in our society. He said his paintings were a result of his strenuous research that spanned over three years. He had to build a comfort level with his ‘models’ for they were fragile inside, as opposed to their rigid, often ridiculous, demeanor on the streets. Azmat said several sexual connotations in his work were related to the portrayal of the “girya – eunuchs’ financial guardian, a husband of sorts, and the man among women”, he said. His work not only received an overwhelming response, but the dynamism of his work was vivid in the use paintbrush on textured surfaces that added an evocative quality to his creations.

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