Artists are often inspired by their environment. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, two painters are using their art to raise awareness about some of the most pressing issues in their country.
Afghan, Pakistani Artists Paint Peace And The Environment
“Bacha Khan Baba is a symbol of peace and tolerance for us,” Arbab says. Popularly known as Bacha Khan, Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890 -1988) was the founder of the nonviolent Servants of God movement that sought independence from the British. An ally of Gandhi, he devoted his life to fighting injustice and prejudice.
“Here I have tried to depict what an Afghan mother goes through,” Arbab says of the painting that attempts to capture the pain of millions of Afghan mothers who have struggled with death, destruction, displacement, and separation caused by more than four decades of fighting.
Arbab says the “message here is that even the inanimate arms and ammunition are tired of this never-ending killing of Afghans.”
Arbab has tried to depict the resilience of Afghan children who go to school under the shadow of guns and suicide bombers.
Arbab is reluctant to interpret his abstract paintings. He says he hates to limit people’s imagination.
Afghan painter Hamdullah Arbab
Ali Sajid is based in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Titled "the poetry of Earth" and showing the immense beauty of a northern valley in Pakistan. “The contrasts of nature and man-made captured my attention to paint this,” Sajid says.
Sajid says he uses a “variety of cool and warm colors in my palette” to paint nature in watercolor.
“The challenges of the 21st century, such as climate change requires new ways of thinking,” Sajid says. “People need to look at the world with interest and receptivity.”
Sajid says that nature inspires his paintings.
A mountain village in northern Pakistan as imagined by Sajid.