Pakistani Truck Art

It was hot, but several expatriates and locals visited the streets of Rawalpindi to look at an unusual form of art work, which has become commonplace art across Pakistan: truck art.

The history spiel is that during the Mughal empire in South Asia there were many artisans involved in painting frescos in mosques, palaces, houses, etc. - but this time came to an end.

The artisans adapted to the situation. They turned their skill from declining royal families to the common people and decorated carts, according to our guide. Carts where later largely replaced by trucks and public buses. In a similar vein, the use of paints alone was augmented by use of reflective tape as well as tin and plastic bodywork. The result is huge Bedford trucks that look positively gaudy at first glance (holding price tags around $5,000 in decoration) - but awesome pieces of art.

We visited the piecemeal shops along the street where reflective tape is cut and tin is shaped.

Then we walked down an alley to see a workshop where trucks where turned into blank canvases for paint, tape, and tin.

Finally, we drove to another truck workshop where we saw the painters at work. Each truck takes about a month to complete.

I couldn't find many good links for Pakistan's truck art, except for Saudi Aramco's article: Masterpiece's To Go - The Trucks of Pakistan. Consider visiting: Pakistani truck art - The Road is Ours! or Tribal Truck Art. [No Wikipedia article yet]