- Title: From the highways to the skies: Pakistan's famous truck art takes to the air
- Date: 1st January 2021
- Summary: KARACHI, PAKISTAN (DECEMBER 30, 2020) (REUTERS) PAINTED AIRCRAFT PARKED AT HANGER AS ARTISTS CONTINUE PAINTING VARIOUS OF TRUCK ART ARTIST HAIDER ALI PAINTING AIRCRAFT PICTURE OF PEACOCK PAINTED ON AIRCRAFT CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF SKY WINGS, IMRAN ASLAM KHAN, LOOKING AT PAINTED AIRCRAFT (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF SKY WINGS, IMRAN ASLAM KHAN, SAYING: "We always wanted to build a softer image for the country and promote the culture and the activities of Pakistan that.... whenever like name of Pakistan is taken in international media, it comes in some way or another some negative sense. Call it FATF (Financial Action Task Force) or terrorism and all that. But, we wanted to show the world that Pakistan is not all about FATF issues or terrorism and all that. Pakistan is a very diverse country. Pakistan is a land of opportunity." PAINTED AIRCRAFT PARKED AT HANGER AS ARTIST CONTINUES PAINTING PICTURE OF BIRDS BEING PAINTED ON AIRCRAFT (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF SKY WINGS, IMRAN ASLAM KHAN, SAYING: "I think I mentioned we have eight airplanes and we have planned some (inaudible) or another for different airplanes. And these are ideas with regards to, like promoting tourism for the country and promoting the softer image." TRUCK ART ARTIST HAIDER ALI SUPERVISING HIS STUDENTS AS THEY PAINT AIRCRAFT (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) TRUCK ART ARTIST HAIDER ALI, SAYING: "This is a fabulous experience. My students also got a chance to learn. It is a new thing for us. My students and I are enjoying this experience. There is not much difference between a truck and an airplane. I have always wanted to paint an aircraft and God fulfilled my wish." (MUTE) TIME-LAPSE OF ALI MAKING FINISHING TOUCHES ON AIRCRAFT (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) TRUCK ART ARTIST HAIDER ALI, SAYING: "Truck art represents our country. Now we will send a new thing to the world in the form of this airplane. The world is familiar with our truck art representation, now, with this aircraft, our colours will fly in the air." ALI'S STUDENTS PAINTING AIRCRAFT BODY OF PAINTED AIRCRAFT ALI'S STUDENTS PAINTING AIRCRAFT VARIOUS OF PAINTED AIRCRAFT BEING PUSHED OUT OF HANGER COCKPIT OF AIRCRAFT PROPELLER BLADES STARTING PAINTED AIRCRAFT TAXIING TOWARDS RUNWAY
- Embargoed: 15th January 2021 07:06
- Keywords: Karachi Pakistan airplanes culture truck art
- Location: KARACHI, PAKISTAN
- City: KARACHI, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Human-Led Feature,Human-Led Stories
- Reuters ID: LVA002DTDEVK7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Pakistan's famous truck art will move from its highways to the skies, as a flying academy is painting a two-seater Cessna aircraft with the colourful technique.
With elaborate and flamboyant motifs, Pakistani truck art has become one of the South Asian country's best known cultural exports, inspired gallery exhibitions abroad, and prompted stores in Western cities to sell miniatures.
"We want to show the world that Pakistan is not all about Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and terrorism issues," said Imran Aslam Khan, chief operating officer of Sky Wings, a flight training organisation. "Pakistan is a very diverse country. Pakistan is a land of opportunities."
Trained by his father Haider Ali, 40, has been decorating trucks since his childhood and is now one of the most prominent such painters in Pakistan. Ali is the artist commissioned to paint the aircraft.
"Truck art represents our country. Now we will send a new thing to the world in the form of this airplane. The world is familiar with our truck art representation, now, with this aircraft, our colours will fly in the air," he told Reuters at the academy's hangar.
Such art has become one of Pakistan's best-known cultural exports in recent years. Truck art, blended with indigenous themes has been used to promote social issues in some areas of the country.
Ali hopes to paint an Airbus or Boeing aircraft in the future, saying an opportunity to work on such gargantuan planes would truly be a learning experience.
(Production: Waseem Sattar, Shahabuddin Shahab) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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