Text | Nusrat Khawaja

Visuals | Courtesy Koel Gallery

The sensuous possibilities of stone were revealed in a high impact art show at Koel gallery. The show titled War Gardens displayed stonework by the Peshawar-based collective called Studio Lél. It was curated by Amra Ali.

The stone-based artworks astonished by the intensity and range of colour, texture, and form. Large and small wall installations, embellished with minerals, dyes and metals, depicted flora and fauna with a delicacy that defied the natural weightiness of raw stone. The transformation from raw material to sculptural art attested to the skill of the craftsman and the imagination of the artists/designers who used a wide variety of techniques to work their magic out of slate, marble, and other exquisite stones.