Yaseen Khan’s art shows a cultivated relationship with material, meaning and imagination. His works first dazzle and then arrest the viewer with their finesse and depth. Khan’s exhibition ‘Line After Line’ comprises six large canvases and more than 20 smaller works. It is a remarkable exploration of his medium of choice, chamak patti, within the ever-widening field of contemporary visual art. But neither the choice of material nor Khan’s fascination with it is accidental.

Explaining his personal relationship with chamak patti, Khan says, “I grew up around the visual culture of decorated trucks. From an early age, I worked as a mechanic. Next to the place where I worked was a truck decoration shop that led to my fascination with the way trucks were transformed through colour, paint, chamak patti, patterns and decorative details.”

Truck art has long been part of Pakistan’s visual and cultural identity. What began primarily as a means of personalising commercial vehicles has evolved into a widely recognised cultural symbol, subsequently finding its way into design, fashion and contemporary art. Transport companies originally employed craftsmen to decorate........

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