Truck art: Amid art scene lull, a welcome distraction

Decorated trucks used by sit-ins participants show ranges of styles.

ISLAMABAD:

For just over two weeks, thousands of people have been camped out in Islamabad, first in the Kashmir Highway-Khayaban-e-Suhrwardy area, and later in front of parliament. The participants are from different walks of life and mostly hail from the two northern provinces of Pakistan, stretching from the fertile plains of Punjab to the mountainous tribal belt across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Whether Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ‘Insafians’ or Pakistan Awami Tehreek ‘Inquilabis’, almost all of the ‘full-time’ residents of the sit in areas have travelled to the city via GT Road.

Different vehicles were used to travel. While vans, buses and cars were the most popular, trucks, motorcycles and even bicycles were used by the daring few. As the two parties both started their marches from Lahore, participants from cities farther north in Punjab mostly joined their respective groups on GT Road or came straight to the capital and waited.

Abid and Anees Anjum (right) pose with their decorated Bedford trucks which have been modified into buses. PHOTOS: MUHAMMAD JAVAID/EXPRESS

Participants have been seen wearing different traditional outfits to stand out in the crowd, populated by an array of hard, soft and smiling faces. But the people participating are not the only ones who put on their Sunday best. Bus and truck drivers have also taken the opportunity to show off their new and improved ‘mobile workstations’, much to the delight of truck art fans.

Truck art is essentially a fusion art form utilizing metal, wood, plastics, mirror and paper. Calligraphy, painting and sticker art are the most visible kinds.

Anees Anjum is the owner of XA-774, a decorated Bedford truck from Chowk Azam in Punjab. He does not ply any particular route, preferring private bookings because the passengers are usually better behaved. Although he usually works near his hometown, he says that a party from Mirpur in Kashmir has booked his truck. “They had seen my truck before and liked it so much that they were willing to pay me extra to travel from Chowk Azam to Mirpur to pick them up.”

Abid brought his Bedford truck, AJK-9743, from Jehlum, and it is also a brilliant work of moving art. The colourful reflectors, custom mirrors, chains, cloth pieces and intricate sticker work attract the eye and challenge the viewer to absorb the entire ‘canvas’ without blinking.

Amid the criticism and praise of the carnival atmosphere at the sit-ins, at least the wheels match the feel.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2014.