Exhibition

Painting Pakistan Proud

Painting Pakistan Proud 9 - 23 May 2013 Bottle Creek Gallery and Courtyard Garden Pakistan's truck art comes to New Zealand through this exhibition of Peter Grant's photography with Karachi truck artists, Younous Nawaz and Anjum Rana painting and decorating a vehicle here in Pataka’s courtyard garden.

This bold and colourful painting tradition goes back many centuries to the decorated camel trains on the Silk Road. After Pakistan split from India in 1947, Karachi became the only port in the region so trucks were sent on long journeys to northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. The lonely long-distance drivers started to paint their vehicles with images depicting their ambitions, dreams, beliefs and popular culture. The truck companies then developed the drivers’ artwork in Silk Road style by embellishing their vehicles in ever-more flamboyant ways to attract customers. The tradition then spread to all modes of transport in Pakistan from rickshaws to buses to carts, bicycles and boats.