'Truck art' tradition trundles along in Pakistan

A source of pride for their drivers, Pakistan’s stunning truck art is continuing a South Asian tradition that may soon inspire China too

Not your average lorry: this driver enters his cab through carved-wood-panel doors (Reuters)

They pollute the roads and chug along at a snail’s pace. But to there Pakistani owners these rickety trucks are mobile works of art, commanding attention with garish portraits of flowers, Islamic iconography, and snowcapped Himalayan peaks.

South Asian “truck art” has become a global phenomenon, inspiring gallery exhibitions abroad and prompting stores in posh London neighbourhoods to sell flamboyant miniature pieces. Yet closer to home some people sneer and refuse to call it “art”.

For the drivers, the designs that turn decades-old vehicles into moving murals are often about local pride. Picking the right colour or animal portrait is tougher than the countless hours spent on the road.

Truck driver Haji Ali Bahadur, who hails from the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, said green and yellow have been his colours of choice during 40 years behind the wheel.

“We, the drivers of Khyber, Mohmand and other tribal regions like flowers on the edge of the vehicles,” he said. “The people of Swat, South Waziristan and Kashmir region like portraits of mountains and different wild animals.”

Truck art has become one of Pakistan's best known cultural exports and offshoot toy and furniture industries have been spawned closer to home.

With Pakistan’s economy picking up speed and new roads opening up trade routes to China, truck art may soon find new admirers abroad.

Reuters