A Unique Way to Represent Pakistani Art & Culture to the World
Pakistan has been blessed with a lot of artists in many different fields. Located on such an important part of the Indian subcontinent, our country has been lucky to have inherited a lot of art from the previous civilizations that dates back to 2,000 B.C. It also contains the reminiscences of the Indus civilization and the cultural and political environment within which they evolved. The continuous evolution of art in this region gave birth to the art of truck painting that went on to become the cultural identity of Pakistan.
History of Truck Art
It were the Indian Sikhs that first introduced the art of truck painting. Back in the 1920s, when trucks and lorries from Bedford company were popularly used in the Indian Subcontinent, Sikhs used to paint their trucks with pictures of their religious gurus. That inspired the Muslim truck drivers who began to paint their trucks with the pictures of Muslim Scholars and freedom fighters of that era.
At the time of Independence, a number of Muslim truck artists migrated to Pakistan and they were the ones who laid the foundations of the truck art in Pakistan. With the passage of time, this form of art became so popular around the world and emerged as one of the folk arts and cultural identity of Pakistan.
Global Recognition
The Pakistani truck art is well known around the world due to the unique colors and designs that are used to paint the trucks. It can be said that the hippies in the 70’s who used to travel Pakistan were the ones who introduced the Pakistani truck art to the American and Western world when they took back the photographs they had taken of the painted and decorated trucks, lorries and buses on the highways and streets of Pakistan. From 1980’s, different Pakistanis started organizing exhibitions around the world to show case Pakistani truck art to the world and by early 2000’s the genre had established itself as an exciting and vibrant ‘folk art-form’ from Pakistan.
There are a number of Pakistani truck painters who are now well-known globally. One of them is Haider Ali who has organized a lot exhibitions in America, Brazil, India and many European countries as well. He is also well known for painting the mural of George Floyd on a wall in Karachi, who was allegedly killed in a racial terrorism attack by the Police Officer in Minneapolis, US. Now he is also teaching the art of truck painting to hundreds of people around the world.
The Truck Painting Process
The truck art requires a very detailed work. First the steel frames are erected on all sides of the truck, then wooden pieces are fixed into the steel frames after handcrafting, sanding and cleaning. Then the wooden pieces are finally painted by hand. The whole process usually takes 8 to 10 weeks approximately.
Cost of the Truck Art
The cost of getting the truck painted and decorated varies and depends on the quality of the wood and the paints used. The second major factor on play is the artist who is called in to do the most important job in this process “the paint job”. If the artist is a well-renowned person then definitely it will cost a fortune. However, the estimated cost of the whole process is around PKR 350,000 ($2,200) and PKR 500,000 ($3,200). As per the painters, the truck owners are usually willing to spend big money to ensure their truck is better than the rest and in this way they will get more and more work, which means more and more money. Interestingly, the truck owners get their trucks a cosmetic overhaul every three to four years.
Truck Art for Purpose
Raising awareness about the importance of education: The truck art has been popularly used by the truck owners and drivers to not just spread a soft and positive image of Pakistan but also pinpoint the global issues and raise awareness at the local level. In 2020, UNESCO sponsored a few projects to paint the trucks raising the importance of education for children especially the girls.
Different quotes were painted for the purpose such as “ilm roshni hai” (education is light) and “ilm taaqat hai” (education is power). Pictures of girls going to schools were also painted on a number of trucks. The UNESCO’s efforts were appreciated very much by the local community.
Racial Equality: A lot of trucks has been painted displaying the messages of racial equality such as “Black Lives Matter” and Islam teachings emphasizing the racial equality.
Win Against the Terrorism: It is impossible that you drive the country’s motorways and highways and you do not see the caricatures of General Raheel Sharif erected on the trucks. He was Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff from 2013 to 2016 and is widely known to lead the most important military operation in the history of Pakistan “Zarb-e-Azb” in 2014 against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan to eradicate our country from the evil of terrorism to a huge extent.
Solidarity with the Freedom Fighters: Caricatures of Che Guevara and Burhan Wani can be seen on a number of long-haul trucks rumbling on the highways. Burhan Wani was one of the most famous Kashmiri freedom fighters in the Occupied Kashmir who fearlessly fought against the Indian Military Occupation but was martyred in a battle in 2016.
The truck art of Pakistan has widely spread across all continents and is now regarded as the identity of our country. This form of art has played an important role in spreading the positive image of Pakistan around the world. Other countries should also follow our footsteps and use this art to spread the message of love, peace and friendship across the borders.
About The Author
Muhammad Rizwan Mubashir is a Management Consultant and an Ex-Big4.
He writes about travel and tourism in Pakistan and wants to change the negative image that international media has always portrayed of Pakistan.
You can connect with him on LinkedIn and Instagram.
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