Honey, I shrunk the guitar

Amna Saleem’s love for stationary led her to create miniature instruments out of erasers for ‘Coke Studio’

KARACHI: As children, our love for new stationery could not be contained. The most exciting moments came when we brought those colorful pencils and sharpeners to the classroom. One Pakistani artist has taken her love for stationary to the next level by carving miniature sculptures out of erasers.

Amna Saleem, a communication design graduate from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, had an inclination towards art since childhood but she started experimenting with erasers in 2012. “I remember I used to collect stationary all the time. I would get excited about them,” she told The Express Tribune. “I had a habit of zoning out and cutting into erasers during my classes. That’s when I started getting interested in sculpting.”

She shared her first artwork was a cat made out of an eraser. “It wasn’t planned out. I just happened to have a new eraser and a paper cutter so I started carving into it. I first sculpted a cat because I love cats and therefore, am familiar with its form. So I made one, painted it, and randomly uploaded it on Facebook. Surprisingly, I received an overwhelming response.”

Subsequently, Saleem started getting commissioned projects through Facebook. Her first commissioned project was a sculpture of Doraemon, a popular Japanese manga series character.

Just one year into her newfound obsession and Saleem was working on a project for Coke Studio season six. “One of my teachers encouraged me to go for it and I got selected as one of the many artists to create art related to Coke Studio.”

She created miniature tablas, guitar and bottles with erasers, cardboard and metal wires depicting the popular music show. The artwork was subsequently published in Coke Studio’s coffee-table book.

Mini sculptures and painting are already a popular art around the world, however not many sculpt with erasers. The artist said people enjoy it because “they want to touch the sculpture. They want to hold it in their hands and feel it.”

Her love for art grew exponentially, and with new projects, she needed more accessories. “I started buying erasers and all my stationary in bulk. Everyone knew about it. And since sculptures are a bit delicate, I put them in empty paint bottles. It reached a point when people would give me their empty paint bottles. I would return to my desk in the class and find loads of them.”

Saleem said she now doesn’t limit herself to erasers, but also works with various materials, including plaster of Paris. Although erasers remain her favourite, she said plaster of Paris is “more steady and practical in terms of working with it.”

Talking about how she wanted to take her art to the next level, she said, “Nowadays I am working with materials such as plastic and newspapers. I would like to use all the recyclable waste material and create designer toys.”

Currently Saleem is working as a communications designer and spends her time working on comics, apps and websites.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2016.

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