KARACHI: Sometimes the line between visual art and poetry becomes so blurred that it becomes difficult to distinguish between the two. It is strange because poetry is all about the arrangement of words and painting or sculpting is to do with creating images. Perhaps, the one thing imperceptibly common between them is the rhythmic flow that both innately carry.

An exhibition of Madiha Hyder`s artworks titled The Divided Banyan A Tale of Roots and Wings,which opened at the Chawkandi Art Gallery on Tuesday, is a fascinating show through which the artist, in an allegorical style, tells a tale of belonging and dislocation.At the centre of the story is a tree.

It`s looming and comforting existence allows a variety of birds mynas, parakeets, sparrows, eagles and robins to begin to identify with it as an abode. But it doesn`t take long for them to become territorial. A quiet tussle ensues.

There is a bit of Animal Farm in that visual trajectory a bit, not a lot. But what Hyder does remarkably well is that she never lets the visual component of the whole saga out of sight.

After all, here she`s a storyteller whose forte is lines, colours and contours.

As a result, it`s the viewer that benefits the most. The drawings on display are a top-notch work of artistry.

The texture of wood, the meaningful posture of birds, the sinuous branches and the imposing presence of treetrunks are worth looking at over and over.

Going back to the original argument of the blurred line between poetry and visual art, and the common element being a delightful sense of rhythm, one is vindicated when one sees the exhibit titled `The Symphony of Existence` (charcoal and graphite pencils, powder and sticks and chalk pastels on paper). What is a symphony but a heart-warming mix of melody and rhythm! And the politics of it allthe birds and their perch, not to mention the movement that takes place by force or willingly is something that imparts the display a movie-like feel, enabling the viewer to feel the kinetic energy of each frame.

The exhibition concludes on May 30.