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Dastaangoi Gallery presents The North
On View August 24 - September 23 2023
@ ICD Brookfield Place, Dubai, UAE
A Portrait of Rakaposhi Mountain
Saara Knapp
150x100cm, oil on canvas, 2023
This painting acts not only as a portrait of a powerful and unique place, describing a landscape that will likely drastically change in the coming years due to our changing climate- but also takes the viewer on a metaphysical journey. Rakaposhi is the only peak on Earth that drops directly, uninterrupted, for almost 6000m from the summit to the base. One can imagine that if they just traveled on the small dirt path through the meadow of the foreground for long enough, they could reach the glacier at the base of the snowy mountain, perhaps even continuing on through the ice to reach the top.
150x100cm, oil on canvas, 2023
This painting acts not only as a portrait of a powerful and unique place, describing a landscape that will likely drastically change in the coming years due to our changing climate- but also takes the viewer on a metaphysical journey. Rakaposhi is the only peak on Earth that drops directly, uninterrupted, for almost 6000m from the summit to the base. One can imagine that if they just traveled on the small dirt path through the meadow of the foreground for long enough, they could reach the glacier at the base of the snowy mountain, perhaps even continuing on through the ice to reach the top.
Attabad Lake at the Golden Hour
Saara Knapp
150x95cm, oil on canvas, 2023
This painting is based on a plein air study made on the edge of the Karakoram Highway, where the artist observed the natural contrast between the lake’s incredibly blue waters and the bright golden light on the surrounding cliffs. It depicts a beautiful and serene scene in the Hunza Valley of Pakistan, where the lake is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Gilgit-Baltistan. Yet under the golden light and the cerulean waters lies the remains of the village destroyed by the creation of Attabad Lake from a landslide in 2010. This painting serves as record of the tension of changing landscapes, the scars they leave behind, and the resilience of the people who live in them.
150x95cm, oil on canvas, 2023
This painting is based on a plein air study made on the edge of the Karakoram Highway, where the artist observed the natural contrast between the lake’s incredibly blue waters and the bright golden light on the surrounding cliffs. It depicts a beautiful and serene scene in the Hunza Valley of Pakistan, where the lake is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Gilgit-Baltistan. Yet under the golden light and the cerulean waters lies the remains of the village destroyed by the creation of Attabad Lake from a landslide in 2010. This painting serves as record of the tension of changing landscapes, the scars they leave behind, and the resilience of the people who live in them.