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Pakistan's truck art tradition
Scene from an exhibition: More than 200 pieces are on show â around 20 of which feature a combination of batik motifs and Pakistani patterns
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Scene from an exhibition:: More than 200 pieces are on show â around 20 of which feature a combination of batik motifs and Pakistani patterns. (JP/P.J. Leo) (JP/P.J. Leo)
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span class="caption">Scene from an exhibition: More than 200 pieces are on show ' around 20 of which feature a combination of batik motifs and Pakistani patterns. (JP/P.J. Leo)
The story of Pakistani truck painting began on the road, but the folk art has now entered the houses of the nation's people.
The form of art was commonly found on buses and trucks, but in the hands of the Tribal Truck Art initiative, it has become an alternative for decorating simple objects, such as kettles, plates, lanterns, oil-lamps, tables and chairs.
The objets d'art are on display at Galeri Indonesia Kaya from Oct. 15 to Oct. 19 and at the Jakarta History Museum from Oct. 21 to Oct. 25.
The exhibition, organized by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Jakarta, aims to introduce Pakistani truck art traditions to Indonesia by showcasing the works of the Tribal Truck Art initiative.
More than 200 pieces are being exhibited, around 20 of which feature a combination of batik motifs and Pakistani patterns.
'The motifs that we use mostly reflect Pakistani culture; its love and affection. It's basically about happiness with the symbols of birds and flowers and bright colors,' said Anjum Rana, the founder of Tribal Truck Art.
Rana explained that the tradition of truck art started after the India-Pakistan partition. In 1950, when Karachi port began operation, trucks were deployed to transport goods to other cities in the country.
'It was a long drive for truck drivers and they would get lonely when they were on the road, so they started making truck art to keep themselves busy,' she said.
At that time, they did not only paint flowers or birds. Much of their work was affected by the political situation in the country.
'When a war took place, they started painting helicopters, or F-15s, and when we won the cricket world cup, people started to paint the image of Imran Khan [the former Pakistan cricket captain],' Rana said.
However, as time went by, many painters stopped painting their trucks, as modern photo-printed advertisements started to decorate buses, trucks and vans.
'I grew up in the northern part of Pakistan where most of the painted trucks came from. I've always loved truck painting but I didn't know what to do when the drivers didn't paint anymore,' Rana said.
She decided to set up Tribal Truck Art in 1999 to help keep the tradition alive and improve the lives of the artists, recruiting the truck painters while thinking of ways to take truck art to a new level.
However, she said it had not been easy for her to bring truck art into the mainstream as people used to look down upon it and made fun of it, thinking that it was kitsch. The elite didn't want to bring it into their homes.
She engaged in many experiments to determine which styles and objects people liked and would want to buy and take home. 'It can be chairs, tables or bags, or if there's a big order, like for a wall or a swimming pool, we will go to their homes to paint.'
According to Rana, after 15 years, people started to respect the folk art much better. Slowly, it became a fashion statement among Pakistanis to have truck art in their homes or for wedding parties.
'I always take my artists when there's an invitation to go abroad because I want them to have the opportunity to travel, to feel the exposure, and experience all of this. It's a way of educating the artists.'
Her work in preserving Pakistani folk art has been widely recognized; UNESCO even awarded her the Seal of Excellence in Handicrafts in 2008.
'I'm not totally there yet but to a great extent, the image has changed now. Now it's seen as a form of art. Truck art itself has always been very good; it was people's perspectives that needed to be changed.'
