Written by: Nimra Khan
Posted on: June 01, 2018 | 
| 中文
Birds in Flight by Irfan Hakim
The recently inaugurated Islamabad International Airport is especially unique in one particular aspect; the extensive art project hailed as one of its defining features. It is exciting for the art community of Pakistan to see works of celebrated artists as part of a public space in an official capacity, with the potential for vast international exposure. The artworks span the check-in halls, departure gates, state lounge, domestic and international lounges, and baggage claim area, in enormous sizes ranging from 24 ft. to 600 ft.
We sat down with the curator, Noorjehan Bilgrami, to discuss the project in detail.
Nimra Khan (NK): How was this project conceived and how did you become involved in it?
Noorjehan Bilgrami (NB): The airport building itself was started during Nawaz Sharif’s earlier regime 15 years ago. They had awarded it to a Singaporean architect who was a specialist in airport design. As local architects they hired Arcop, which is Yawar Jilani and Mahboob Khan’s team. After Musharraf and Zardari’s regime, Nawaz Sharif came back in power so this government started working on it again. While completing it, they realized that certain areas earmarked for artwork had not been considered. I was approached by the local architects to curate it. Since the spaces were already marked, it was not like I could go and select any area on my own.
NK: What was the basic idea behind the kind of artists and artworks/crafts you chose to include?
NB: The space is lovely, with a very contemporary architecture of glass, which could be anywhere in the world – it’s very modern. That’s why I felt that the art should be rooted in our culture, so we went for a mixture of fine arts and traditional crafts, representative of Pakistan. The airport is a gateway or threshold to the country, and people in transit are there for short periods of time. It connects the north and south of Pakistan, and we are also hoping that the international traffic will increase due to it. My idea was to try and showcase our excellence in both the selection of visual artists and our master craftsmen.
There are these two huge panels as you enter the airport into the departure check-in hall, both domestic and international. Naazish Ataullah was the curator for fine arts in Lahore, and she managed to get the internationally recognized Ayesha Khalid and Imran Qureshi, two of our leading miniature artists, for this space. This is 200 ft. long, so you can imagine the size.
NK: Are these works hand done?
NB: All hand done. Qureshi worked with 24 karat gold leaf and the idea was to have calligraphy for the passengers, so his work has Surah al Qadr, the Night of Power. He’s painted it like the unfolded pages of Islamic manuscript that are laid out flat, side by side. It’s very celestial, the sky and illumination; really beautifully done.
NK: Did you commission all the craft pieces?
NB: Yes, we designed and commissioned these, but using the artist’s own language and repertoire. There are seven of these at the departure gates. There is Chitarkari, and the chitarkaar is a very renowned master, Ustad Aurangzeb, and his son Muhammad Rustom. They have actually engraved the grey slate using calligraphy here. If you go up to the mountains near Taxila, tomb stones have such motifs. This is 24 feet high.
Sadia Salim was the curator for ceramics. She has worked with the ceramists, and the Kashikari was done in Multan by Ustad Mohammad Wajid. These are all people whose ancestry and lineage goes back centuries; he’s probably the 5th generation. We had stone masons from Chawkandi and Makli in Sindh carve out this panel, with designs from the tombs in that area. In Peshawar, we worked with the metal carvers using brass and copper together. The State Lounge has some lovely work by the team of Ustad Naqash Rafaqat Ali and his sons, who painted the fresco on wet lime plaster. The same team made the mirror work (Sheeshakari) as well, the kind that used to be at the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) at the Lahore Fort.
Inside the domestic lounge, there is Ali Kazim; he’s again a very famous painter. He’s done about 6x12 feet paintings of the ruins at Harappa. We have sculptures by Amin Gulgee and Adeela Suleman, a painting by Meher Afroz and photography by Amean J.
We also worked with the different styles of truck art, choreographed by Munawar Ali Syed. They were from all the cities; Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Khushaab and Faisalabad. About 600 ft. long, this arrangement goes on through both domestic and international baggage claim areas. I thought that when you’re really tired, waiting for your luggage and just wanting to go home, there should be something cheerful and colourful to attract your attention.
NK: Were there any issues that you faced, especially with the authorities and the government?
NB: Actually, I was a bit apprehensive about working for the government. Initially, there were times when they couldn’t understand the concept. In retrospect, it’s such an enormous task that there were bound to be some pitfalls. I think I got good support from the architects, and even with the people in authority I didn’t have any issues. There were problems with some craftspeople, because they are not used to this scale of work, or providing the kind of finish I was looking for. Even with artists such as Imran Qureshi and Ayesha, these are the largest murals they have done. Overall, everyone was very cooperative, and despite some hurdles, I should be thankful that I didn’t have any mega issues.
NK: Keeping in mind our history with public art, what implications do you think this project will have for the future?
NB: I hope it will be inspirational. Already some of the architects involved in the project are using the craftsmen for their other projects, such as the new Agha Khan hospital in Hyderabad, where a wooden panel is being painted as a mural. The idea was to try and motivate people to view art as a part of our existence. Therefore, art in public spaces should be encouraged — and not just little funny vases or tiles— but do it in an expansive way so that it becomes part of our daily life. I think it will have an impact when you see how well something can be made. It may take a little longer though.
NK: In terms of government funding for public art, which is nonexistent at the moment; do you think it will change that?
NB: I’m sure it is going to, but perhaps it will take some time. It has been barely a month since this opened, and there are so many issues in the running of the airport. It’s funny to read the comments; people are cursing and saying this didn’t work and that didn’t work, but the artworks lifted my spirits. So we’re getting some good feedback for our project.
NK: Your favourite piece, which you think is effective in the space, and will resonate with the audience as well?
NB: I think the most successful and well-integrated into the building was the state lounge wall, which was painted over there. To me, that was a lovely feeling of using the lime plaster, embedding it onto the wall and the guys actually working on site. The rest was fabricated elsewhere and then brought inside the premises.
It’s difficult to say which one is my favourite really, because each one has its own narrative and a different resonance to the space. The copper one worked out really well, because we pushed and challenged the craftsmen that it should be in 3D. The stone work is also different than what I had in mind. A couple of them aren’t my favourites that I can tell you [laughs].
From Baluchistan, for example, I wanted mirror work textile embroidery, which is very fragile. But in that scale, to get a special carpet woven was not possible. Now, we have a collage of existing carpets from Baluchistan, which isn’t really fantastic. For the doors, I would have loved to have new wood work, but in that scale you need a lot of time for intricacy. So we just used two old, bleached doors. That’s okay, but it’s not specially made for the space. But because we wanted to represent all of Pakistan, instead of just Sindh or Punjab, we had to make do.
We remain hopeful that the nation will honour the efforts of Noorjehan Bilgrami, the artists and the craftsmen, who are behind this exceptional project. The project is doubly significant for the recognition and respect it bestows upon the artists and master craftsmen, who have previously been largely ignored on a national level, and for making their work accessible to the general public.
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