Sadequain: The Holy Sinner

“Sadequain: The Holy Sinner” was a spectacular retrospective held in 2002-2003 that featured over two hundred of Sadequain’s non-calligraphic works. It reflected the artist’s existential preoccupations with human suffering underpinned by his famous notion of “mystic figuration.”

The title of the exhibition, “The Holy Sinner” was borrowed from the novel of the German Nobel prize-winning writer Thomas Mann. Painstakingly curated by Hameed Haroon and assisted by Salima Hashmi, it traced the transformation of Sadequain’s style from one of semi realism to profound allegory.