Is it a truck, is it a car?
Artist Sobia Saad writes about introducing colourful truck art to Ireland
Art provides us with a means of expressing ourselves. Since our evolution, we’ve been carving the cave walls for the same purpose. We decorate our homes, dresses, and bodies to express our values.
Similarly, truck drivers in South East Asia, particularly in Pakistan and India, treat their vehicles as if they were their children. To enhance their beauty, they use intricate design and patterns, as well as chains and colorful mirrors. This type of romance can cost thousands of dollars, but as they say, there is no limit when it comes to your passion.
Truck drivers in India and Pakistan must travel long distances to maintain supply lines. They must be away from their homes for months. That is one of the reasons they spend so much time, effort, and money decorating their trucks to reflect their home culture. This makes them feel at ease. This has also become a medium for them to spread their messages.
You’ve probably been in a situation where you had to follow the tail of the truck in front of you on the highway or in town.
This could be a boring experience, but truck artists in South-east Asia make it interesting by decorating the back of their trucks with intricate artwork.
It is an attempt to integrate Pakistani culture with Irish culture in the same way that I have integrated my life in this country.
This artwork could depict a person, a plant, or an animal, as well as a verse or a poem.
It gives expressionism a whole new meaning.
In Pakistan, I earned a Masters degree in printmaking and fine arts. So far, my focus has been on using oil on canvas to depict the inner feelings, moods, and psychology of our turmoil. I’ve been looking for a project to start back on my art projects since I moved from Pakistan to Ireland about 4 years ago. My current project has one goal in mind: to introduce Irish people to the truck art culture that is so deeply ingrained in Pakistan.
We’ve seen the names of Kavanagh’s, O’Brien’s, and other supermarket chain’s name on the back of a truck.
But what if we could take it to a whole new level with some bright colors in blue, red, and green tones? So I used my old car, which had become nothing more than a dump car, waiting to be disposed of. My efforts have given it new life, a rebirth.
