Truck Art in Pakistan

Bedford Trucks and Art

The history of Pakistan’s truck art goes back to 1920 when Bedford trucks invaded the streets of Pakistan. A giant wooden prow was fixed at the top of the Bedford truck as a crown; decorative bumpers were placed besides wood panels along with the cabin of the truck. In the 1940s, companies even started to create their logo to make their respective trucks stand out in public, especially over long journeys.

Eventually, this effort pushed forward companies to become competitive over some time. The truck drivers were keen on making sure their trucks would stand out and this led to the point where they would spend two years of their wage, approximately $2,500, on a paint job.

In the 1920s, Pakistan’s road infrastructure was awful, which didn’t provide good maneuverability. In the 1940s, Belford trucks were imported and sold in Pakistan and became extremely popular, and in 1953 General Motors established a National Motors plant in Karachi for manufacturing Bedford trucks. After Ghandhara Industries took over National Motors in 1963, the demand for Bedford trucks became even more than before. While the demand for Bedford trucks was increasing, Pakistan’s truck art was becoming even more popular. 

Haji Hussain: Inspiring Pakistani Truck Artists

In 1930, trucks were painted simply with protective coating alongside the name of the company stenciled onto the trucks. By the 1940s, as the competition between truck art companies increased, Pakistan’s truck art gained momentum. At that time, this allowed Pakistani truck artists to earn 1,500 rupees daily, while the person who assisted the truck artist made around 300-400 rupees. 

After 1947, Haji Hussain, a bow and arrow maker known for being one of the initial truck artists, brought his skill in terms of painting murals and ceiling decoration to the newly independent state of Pakistan. This led Hajji Hussain to stencil various objects and impressions onto the trucks. Hajji Hussain settled in Karachi in the 1950s and Karachi became the center of truck art.

Today, in Karachi alone, about 50,000 people get employed for truck art. Even the truck drivers agree to pay up to 150,000 to 200,000 rupees since they get good responses from the public regarding their trucks. So to remain popular, they tend to decorate their trucks every few years. 

However, for Pakistani truck artists like Kafeel Bhai, known for his paintings of Madam Noor Jehan, Princess Diana, falcons, and horses, it is the art itself that matters. According to Haider Ali, one of the most famous Pakistani truck artists and the CEO of Phool Patti (an organization promoting truck art internationally), “Truck art represents us (Pakistanis). We have mastered the art and it depicts a positive image of Pakistan before the world. We will continue with the tradition forever.”

Linking Culture with Art

Pakistan’s truck art also represents the road culture of the state and has gained the status of commercial art. That’s because Bedford trucks are exported to several countries, including the USA, Bulgaria, France, Germany, India, etc., and the truck art done on those trucks provides a sense of culture to foreigners. The poetry written upon the trucks is usually an artistic and emotional expression of the truck artist. Poetry can send the message of peace and harmony all across the world.

Truck art in Pakistan is quite promising; truck drivers with enough money are likely to spend more on truck art. However, the increasing use of shipping containers, in which color flatbed trucks are shipped, limits truck art. Since the flatbed truck lack side panels, there is less room for an artist to paint. Nevertheless, truck art is an essential part of Pakistan, as it exhibits the state’s various cultures and allows its artists to exhibit their creativity.

In Pakistan, this exuberant artwork is called “phool patti” and it adorns almost every form of transportation—ice cream carts, tractors, local buses, tuk tuks, and minivans that ferry passengers from town to town. In rural Pakistan, camels are decorated with henna designs and barbered with ancient motifs. Seafaring boats get bright paint makeovers. “Decorating vehicles is in our genes,” says Ali Salman Anchan, founder and creative director of the social enterprise Phool Patti which promotes Pakistani truck art across the world.

Anchan may be right. Truck art is linked with antiquity, says visual artist Farah Yusuf Ali. During the Indus Valley Civilization (2600 -1700 BC), which extended from present-day northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India, people beautified their boats and transportation animals. This tradition of decorating any mode of transport lasted over centuries and prevailed through the Mughal Empire and British India. Pakistani truck art, Ali says, is the contemporary version of this tradition.

When trucks arrived in British India in the early 20th century, local companies embossed their decorative logos on trucks. According to Ali’s research, these logos helped illiterate working-class laborers to identify trucks. According to Durriya Kazi’s 1998 paper “Decorated Trucks of Pakistan,” General Motors first introduced trucks to Karachi in the 1930s, and by the time of the Indian partition in 1947, Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, was a hub for truck painting. Artists, metal workers, and craftsmen from across the country flocked to Karachi for work. Ghandhara Industries, who took over General Motors’ national arm in 1963, imported a large number of massive Bedford trucks, produced by the British manufacturer Vauxhall. Known for their durability, these Bedford trucks came to dominate Pakistan’s roads, many with decorated “crowns”—large wooden prows fixed to the top of the truck.

On this day, Riaz painstakingly carves out a floral design for a truck’s side mirror. Riaz often has artistic freedom, but sometimes, drivers and owners show up with their demands. “This driver is Kashmiri, so he asked me to decorate his truck with Pakistani flags. He wanted to show his patriotism to Pakistan,” Riaz says, showing a couple of Pakistani flags carved on glossy sticker paper.

While their trucks are a point of pride and a home on wheels for truck drivers, they also see them as a decked-out bride, Ali says. “Every inch is covered with vibrant motifs, and hanging metal embellishments emulate jewelry,” she says. Sometimes, truckers want artists to draw a portrait of a politician, cricket star, or folk singer they admire. Ali says these types of portraits are unique and distinguish Pakistani truck art from vehicular art across the world.

“Truck art was also our social media,” Anchan says, chuckling. “When Imran Khan—Pakistan’s previous prime minister—won the cricket world cup in 1992, we painted cricket stars on our trucks. When a film became a hit, we painted the actor. It captures our current trends. It reflects the mood of a nation,” he says. Now truck art is inspiring pop culture, too; major clothing brands incorporate it into their textiles and sneakers and visitors can take home a piece of truck art from the souvenir shops at Islamabad airport.Pakistan's truck art "reflects the mood of a nation," says one observer. It has also inspired pop culture, adorning everything from sneakers to souvenirs.

Artists and activists also use trucks to educate and address social issues. “It’s important to use culturally sensitive tools that resonate with local audiences. Truck art is an expression of local artists. It’s also a moving billboard that carries messages from one part of Pakistan to another,” says anthropologist and documentary filmmaker Samar MinAllah Khan who worked with a team of truck artists to share messages about child marriages, sexual abuse, domestic labor, and honor killings. Khan also collaborated with Roshni, a Karachi-based organization to locate missing children, by painting their children’s portraits on the back of the trucks with helpline numbers.

Moreover, Khan says truck art helps tackle the stereotypical representation of Pashtun truck drivers. Often considered a warrior race, most Pashtuns live close to the Afghan-Pakistan border region. “Truck art breaks the stigma of seeing Pashtuns as men holding rifles,” Khan says, “Through truck art, you celebrate the imaginative nature of Pashtuns. You celebrate their love for poetry and art.