Of an understated demeanour, Akhtar Hilal Zuberi is from an earlier generation of artists; one that does not carry the burden of aspirations of today’s breed of successful artists. His narrative in textile reflects his insistence on the finer values of the handmade, where time almost stops to reflect on the subtle shifts of form, space and texture of material; where the quiet of pace determines the aesthetics. He graduated from the National College of Arts, Lahore, in 1962 and studied textile design. Zuberi Sahib has been passionately involved as an educator, as founder of the Fixon School of Art and Creative Techniques (FACTS), Karachi, which was established in 1984. His Urdu short stories titled, Gaali is to be published in 2014.

You have a long list of group and solo exhibitions to your credit, at the American Centre in ’69, The Gallery in ’72, at Bashir Mirza’s Atelier BM in ’75 and shows later in the ’80s and ’90s. How do you think that the gallery to artist dynamics has changed?

The gallery owner used to host and welcome the artist in a shared space. The distances were not so great. In the late ’50s and early ’60s poets, writers and artists had a close interaction with each other, in places such as the Pak Tea House in Lahore and an Irani hotel in Saddar, Karachi. The Karachi Arts Council was a good meeting place then. Sadequain and Shakir Ali interacted with common people. There were fewer galleries, but more passionate and apolitical artists.

Now there is a class distinction, which is reflected in the education system and the gallery circuit. Artists have their own ‘factories’ and galleries are shops. Artists’ training apart, they launch their product and a group of people become the networkers to establish the brand. No matter what an artist is doing, the ‘quality’ and audience is determined by the marketing team.

How did tapestry become your passion?

I was painting much before I developed interest in tapestry. I was teaching art at the Benghazi University, Libya from 1974-84 and got the chance to travel to Europe and felt that art history was in Europe, not America. I came across Picasso’s tapestries as well as other museums dedicated to tapestry. Back in Pakistan, my brother and I did interiors and the well-known Habitat, an architecture and industrial stuff show. I got to handle a lot of textile material that had an immediate tactile and visual appeal to me.

My tapestry is not preconceived; I introduce an element and follow it. Whatever it demands, I give it. I talk to the work and it talks to me. The word artist comes from artisan, so for me there is no distinction between art and craft. You define the medium and it defines you. I like the tapestry to be free of the frame so unlike my previous work that was contained in a frame, the new work exposes the thread even more with a clear frame. It looks like it is suspended freely.

I am concerned about the image more than the subject. The image stands for itself alone. It does not need to be articulated in a formal definition. That is why I don’t like to title the work. Till I work on the tapestry, it is in my domain. After that it has its own body and soul and stands for itself. My image is not reality; it is an experience, just as beauty and feeling cannot be defined.

Are the recurring elements such as linearity (the state of being linear) deliberate?

That happens subconsciously. One arranges and rearranges them. The form that comes out or the process has an inner source that has to do with my personality and nature; it is more like making a musical composition. I don’t want to steer my viewer in a certain direction; I leave them alone with my creation.

What was the vision behind FACTS, where you impart art education and have invested in much more than technical training?

I have tried to make students understand the value of commitment to the field. The Ustad is not a seller and the student not a buyer. I learnt this from my mentors and try to bring that to my group of students.