She is Indeed God Gifted!!
Summaiya Jillani, the Karachi-based artist behind the ‘Pakistani Marilyn Monroe’ painting, which became viral on social media websites recently.
**Hosh Media: An image of the painting received hundreds of shares and likes in a few hours on Facebook and Twitter. Were you expecting such a response on social media?
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****Summaiya Jillani: I was expecting a lot from this painting, but the response that I received in just one day exceeded all expectations. People know me as a very non-ambitious person and they keep telling me that I always underrate myself by always being over-surprised at the response to my work, so you can imagine how stunned I must have been. My Facebookinbox has gone berserk. Every two seconds, I receive messages from people from different places. The number of times this one picture has been shared in one day is almost magical.
I have always been open to the Internet as it has brought me many commissions (work). I think social media rocks! You can become a star in no time. All you need is something original to say or show and … voila.
******HM: How would you describe the Marilyn piece titled,‘Baar baar dekho, hazaar baar dekho’?
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****SJ: I don’t want to sound pompous about my work, so I will simply quote what other people have been saying about it. For those who are aware of art, it is like a new Pakistani Warhol. Elders love it because its taking them back to their times, while young kids love it for its vibrancy. Mature youngsters are all for it because of its witty sensuality. And I love it for being universally attractive.
**HM: What compelled you to give Marilyn Monroe’s iconic racy pose a Pakistani makeover, what’s your larger message behind the piece?
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SJ: This is not the first time that I gave Marilyn this makeover. I have done this earlier as well, in 2010, during my thesis days. And then, it was not only Marilyn, but with her was an equally celebrated male hunk of her time, James Dean with a “beeri” stuck in his mouth, giving his look a very “local tapori” touch.
As far as the message is concerned, I never try too hard to forcefully foster my work with some deep meaning. Being very honest, all I care about is the “bang,” I want my work to give to the viewers. That is my main intention and then its up to the people whatever they like to extract conceptually out of my paintings. And one can see my paintings substantiating my intentions very clearly as they just hit both the masses and the elites instantly.
**HM: Was the piece a part of a larger collection?
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SJ: This piece was part of a huge group show, which opened at the VM Art Gallery in Karachi on the June 4, 2012. I exhibited only two pieces in the show so it is not really a part of some bigger body of work by me
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***HM: How was the social media response different from reactions at the exhibit?
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SJ:** *Both the responses had their own fun. Social media response was, of course, very oceanic and it spread like fire, while the gallery had its own charm. People standing in front of your painting for long minutes, then moving around a bit and coming back to it again definitely make you feel very good. I am always interested in seeing young kids’ response to art, which you don’t get to see much on Facebook or Twitter as at this age ‘art’ has not yet become their cup of tea. But when they observe it in a gallery, their body language tells how mesmerised they are to see some original piece of art. That thrill in their conversations is exciting and something very positive. I even find uninterested kids very funny in a gallery because they are honest with their expressions.
***HM: How important do you think social media is for young artists in Pakistan?
SJ:** I* believe it is playing the strongest role in almost any field these days. We all need to be open about our work here on the social network. You never know what strikes the masses here as something very extraordinary. I never understand people who put up their work under severe privacy. What is the point of putting them up then? I mean your family and friends can always come over to your place and see them. Show it to the real world out there. Don’t forget to put dates and watermarks to avoid plagiarism though.
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