‘Karachi is our canvas’

Published October 12, 2014
Photos by the writer
Photos by the writer

Signatures of a certain ‘Munna Badmash’, contact details of slimming clinics or those offering to free you from supernatural horrors have adorned the walls of our city since a really long time. So it is hardly surprising that one barely does a double take while sometimes even crossing a rather uglier message that of inciting sectarian violence or of comparing someone to a certain animal. These are just writing on the walls, after all. Everyone eventually walks past them but not Abdoz Arts.

Abdoz Arts, led by three spirited university students Humble Tariq, Umer Asim and Wahaj Ali Khan is an initiative for reclaiming and “freeing” walls (of Karachi, for now) from hate-filled chalking.

“We are an art agency and we’re taking up the responsibility to clean up the whole city,” says Humble, who is a student of BBA at Institute of Business Administration.


Fed up of ugly and hate-filled graffiti on the walls of your city? Well, Abdoz Arts wants you to spray it, not just say it


Clean up the city from what exactly? Umer Asim explains that one day while venturing out from his house he noticed that the nearby school had hate-filled messages scrawled all over its walls.

Art by Summaiya, Photos by the writer
Art by Summaiya, Photos by the writer

“What struck us was the fact that the walls belong to us and they are supposed to be an asset of our city,” said Asim.

“And yet by spreading negative messages, they have become a liability,” added Tariq.

Wall chalking in the city is indeed quite an unpleasant sight. From cliched political slogans that have little to do with modern times to remarks encouraging people to take up arms, one would be hard pressed to find a public space that has been left untouched. So common is the sight that one might not even think about the messages twice and yet, there is a point to reclaiming that space.

Signs of patriotism, Photos by the writer
Signs of patriotism, Photos by the writer

“Karachi has one of the richest art heritages in the country. Why do we have to repress it while negativity is allowed to flourish openly?” questions Asim.

“A good message has the power to make us all united. A simple message like “I love Pakistan” can spark patriotism in people so why should we allow hate-filled messages to exist on our walls?” claims Tariq.

Asim recalls how seeing the disturbing messages on school walls prompted them to paint over them. And this is essentially what Abdoz Arts is all about. Considering how the group wanted to use patriotism as one of their initial themes, 14th August became a natural choice for their first public event called #5Artists5Walls1Pakistan.

Talking about the event, Tariq said, “We invited five artists and asked them to do artwork over five different walls that were earlier unclean.”

Healthy Pakistan art for Johnny Rockets, Photos by the writer
Healthy Pakistan art for Johnny Rockets, Photos by the writer

“It was a huge success with many people stopping in their tracks to take notice and applaud what we were doing,” he added.

When asked why could they not just have cleaned the walls and instead opted to do artwork over it, Tariq responded, “A white wall is not furthering a positive cause but by making artists draw over it, we’re not only promoting art but also promoting our cultural values, patriotism and just positive messages, in general.”

The group definitely takes all its messages seriously and has taken great pains to name itself and its projects accordingly. Abdoz Arts, as Tariq explained, has been named so because of the group’s fascination with a submarine.

“Sometimes we like to entertain the idea that our planet is a huge submarine that is traveling through the universe and we’re traveling along with it,” says Tariq, adding, “It is an idea which we all have a close affinity with and that’s why we ended up naming our self Abdoz (Urdu word for submarine).”

Their second event, which was bigger in scale and spanned over three days, had a similar agenda to that of their first one. Titled “Art of KU” as it was held in Karachi University, a place that has become known for its politics-driven brawls, the event sought to do over the chalking that occupied its walls.

“We financed the whole project. Artists could come in any time, any day,” said Tariq. “We provided them with a medium and utensils like spray cans and paints.”

“A lot of people came from various universities to participate. It was like a pool of people coming together to express what they believed in,” said Asim.

What deserves a mention is the amount of time and effort they spent in ensuring that whatever artwork they did on the walls of Karachi University was allowed by the administration.

“We discussed the idea with the Chancellor of KU,” explained Khan. “Wall chalking itself, is strictly prohibited in the university and is considered an act of vandalism.”

“This is where we wanted to differentiate ourselves. We only wanted to go forward with it if it was legally allowed,” said Tariq, adding that he had obtained a signed permission letter for his event from the KU administration.

“We convinced the Chancellor that if we only repainted the walls with white paint, it would again serve as an open canvas for people who wished to write chants and slogans,” said Khan, adding, “but if we were to do an elaborate artwork over a wall, it would make anyone think twice before picking up a chalk to ruin it.”

“This was the first time the University’s walls were covered with something positive, free of any political references,” said Tariq, with the hint of a smile.

Talking about the event, Asim said that Rebel was their primary artist even though a number of people turned up to participate.

Faizan Sheikh, who is popularly known as Rebel, is a well-known graffiti artist. “I painted over three walls in three days,” he said, adding that his artwork was about promoting a good environment, discipline and patriotism.

Speaking about the art, Sheikh said that the graffiti was what makes him different. “It is one of the first instincts of a child — to pick up a crayon and draw over a wall and that is what I wanted to do,” he says.

As Tariq later explained, Abdoz takes pride in itself for not just seeking to remove messages that would leave a bad impression on an observer’s mind but also for promoting what he called “really talented people who are missing an avenue to showcase their skills.”

“I have seen a number of students in KU who do amazing art and yet nobody knows about them or have seen their work,” says the co-founder.

Drawing the discussion to a close, Asim said that the group wanted to “artify” Karachi and considered underpasses one of the dream locations to take their artwork to.

“It’d be lovely to see underpasses carrying such patterns, instead of chalking,” said Tariq, adding that he’s also trying to get IBA on board with his initiative.

The group claims that in order to do more events, it needs more funds. “Our first project was funded by the local government while Art of KU was financed by Daraz.pk and Johnny Rockets,” said Tariq. “Going forward we’d also like all our artists to be paid.”

But one thing is clear, funds or not, the sheer determination shining from the eyes of Abdoz Arts is sure to keep it afloat for times to come. Good for us.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, October 12th, 2014

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