A sculptor, poet and instrument player, Imran Hunzai lived a rich childhood, learning crafts, playing musical instruments and helping his parents in farming and taking care of domestic livestock.

Born in Hunza to a family of artisans, shepherds and farmers, he was inspired by his grandfather Doulat Shah, who was a self-taught architect and artisan, popular for his skills to design and construct ethnic houses for the local community.

“He was widely respected; there was a barter system and the village folks would reward his services by giving him sheep, bulls and wheat. He loved working for his people regardless of what he was paid in return,” Imran vividly recalls.

“I was inclined to image-making from tender age and my parents would encourage my portrait sketches; it pushed me to move on with my passion to draw.

He joined an art workshop, conducted by Anwar Saeed in Hunza, during 1999. This was his first exposure to the academic art education, which led him to join the National College of Arts, Lahore, in 2002 to major in the discipline of sculpture.

During studies, he mastered the skills of sand casting by working with Ustad Younas, a local craftsman of Lahore practicing traditional metal casting techniques.

After experimenting with stone, wood, clay and various unconventional mediums, his first creative expression was kinetic sculptures.

“The first challenge I faced as an artist was how to relate my art with my personal life. They were rooted in my childhood memories of creating toys out of organic materials and junk. The unavailability of ready-made toys was a blessing in disguise that made us creative as compared to our next generation, which can’t create art like us. All their skills are shrunk to operate the ready-made toys and electronic gadgets,” he said in a sombre tone.

His first show ‘Wooden Woes’ in 2007 was wood carvings, based on the verses of Rumi. He worked as a visiting faculty at the National College of Arts, Rawalpindi campus, for a decade. He is among few practicing Pakistani sculptors with four solo shows to his credit.

“I kept on working as a professional artist and run my studio after long working hours on campus. Unlike many other artists, I didn’t join any lobby or group for immediate professional success.

“I carved my way through hard work because I didn’t want my name to be eclipsed by any one,” he believes.

While going through thick and thin of life, music has been his companion to console him.

Skilled in playing rubab, flute, Iranian Sittar, tabla and harmonium, his studio is a welcoming place for young aspirants to learn visual arts and music.

He composes poetry in Urdu and Burushaski, which is his mother language. To promote Burushaski he is writing lyrics and composing songs which are being rendered by vocalist Salman Paras. One of these tracks, released online, got viral last week.

Working with wood and stone since his childhood gave him a good command and control on these mediums. His poetry and sculptures reflect the agony of a common man who is alienated from simple ethnic living, cultural roots and is being ruthlessly exploited by consumerism.

Published in Dawn January 17th, 2017