Colourful and vibrant photos of Pakistani Truck Art will blow you away

They pollute the roads and chug along at a snail's pace, but to their Pakistani owners the rickety trucks are moving pieces of art, commanding attention with garish portraits of flowers, Islamic art, and snow-capped Himalayan peaks. South Asian "truck art" has become a global phenomenon, inspiring gallery exhibitions abroad and prompting stores in posh London neighbourhoods to sell flamboyant miniature pieces. Yet closer to home some people sneer and refuse to call it "art".

Plastic bottles used to store water and a tyre stopper are wedged on the side of a decorated truck in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

For the drivers, the designs that turn decades-old vehicles into moving murals are often about local pride. Picking the right colour or animal portrait is tougher than the countless hours spent on the road.

Speakers and a fan are seen in the cab of a decorated truck in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Truck driver Haji Ali Bahadur, who hails from the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, said green and yellow have been his colours of choice during 40 years behind the wheel.

Artwork is seen on a decorated truck outside Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

"We, the drivers of Khyber, Mohmand and other tribal regions like flowers on the edge of the vehicles," he said. "The people of Swat, South Waziristan and Kashmir region like portraits of mountains and different wild animals."

An electric gauge is seen in the cab of a decorated truck in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Truck art has become one of Pakistan's best known cultural exports and offshoot toy and furniture industries have been spawned closer to home.

Artwork is seen on a decorated truck in Peshawar, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

With Pakistan's economy picking up speed and new roads opening up trade routes to China, truck art may soon find new admirers abroad.

Click through for some more beautiful images of truck art in Pakistan. Decorations cover the gear shift of a decorated truck outside Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Artwork is seen on a decorated truck in Taxila, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Boys pose for a picture in front of a decorated truck in Peshawar, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

A security guard poses for a portrait in front of his favourite decorated truck at a truck stop outside Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Drivers rest on beds at a truck stop outside Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

.A driver holds open the door of the carved wood cab of his decorated truck in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

.A worker washes a decorated truck in Peshawar, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Artwork is seen on a decorated truck in Peshawar, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Artwork is seen on a decorated truck outside Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Workers unload fruit from a decorated truck at the wholesale produce market in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Scenes of Islam's holy sites in Mecca and Medina are seen on a decorated truck in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Workers load straw onto a decorated truck outside Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Workers load straw onto a decorated truck outside Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)

Workers load straw onto a decorated truck outside Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Source: Photography by Caren Firouz. Reporting by Jibran Ahmad/ Reuters)