Symphony by Jiya Zahid in Chiniot

Oils on Canvas This painting, "Symphony," illustrates the delicate balance that each person goes through during a lifetime on both an emotional and a physical level. The subject is a clown standing on a small stool; one leg was broken, representing the precariousness of life. An expression of the clown while playing a small stringed instrument gives a feeling of being a mix of sad and graceful, which reflects one's emotional struggle when one has to work to maintain composure and balance. The over-sized shoes, red nose, and white costume of the clown make one think he actually does perform for someone else, something most people try to do in life, making a brave face for everyone while hiding what they really feel inside. His posture on the weak stool represents life: how unstable, sometimes seeming as though one wrong move could make everything crumble. After all, "Symphony" speaks to the general human experience: taking life's struggles and tossing in bits of beauty and joy, reminding us about how much we need the resilience to keep going, even when things feel flimsy.