On the Driver’s Seat

From images of Imran Khan holding aloft the World Cup in 1992 to helicopters roaring after the Afghan War,current events have always inspired artists who paint on trucks,buses and motorcycles of Pakistan. An ongoing exhibition at the India Habitat Centre,Truck Art Home Accessories,showcases products,including furniture,which have got a kitschy makeover through truck art.

“This form of art is very common in Pakistan,but in India and other countries,the truck art of Pakistan has proved to be very popular,” says Anjum Rana,60,a Unesco award winner,whose organisation,Truck Art,has brought the show to India. Wood,metal,steel and luminous plastic sheets are among the media used in the exhibition.

The organisation has been working with craftsmen like Ahmed Ali for the past nine years as well as low-wage artists,providing them with regular employment and a good work environment. “Our artists have even been invited to paint a truck in London for the Olympics,” says Rana.

While the work is interesting,it is also steeply priced. Key chains and T-shirts are priced around R 250 and

R 900 respectively while helmets,trunks and chairs come for R 10,000. “These aren’t ‘just’ chairs,they are paintings. Our aim is to get these treated as respected artwork,” says Rana justifying the price.

The exhibition is on till today at The Open Palm Gallery,India Habitat Centre. Contact: 24682001