QUETTA: Three Pakistani artists in the southern coastal city of Pasni have sketched a portrait of the United Arab Emirates ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum along with the Dubai Expo 2020 logo on a beach in Balochistan province — and the pictures of these artworks have gone viral on social media.
Zubair Mukhtar, 47, Hussain Zaib, 43, and Bahar Ali Gohar, 48, have been making images of local personalities on Pasni’s seashore to promote such artistic endeavors in the province.
As the preparations for the upcoming Dubai Expo gained momentum, they decided to draw the portrait of the UAE ruler near the Arabian Sea to offer a unique tribute to the gulf state and its administration.
“We were hearing about the expo and had seen its advertisements on social media,” Mukhtar told Arab News. “That’s when we decided to draw the 75×65 feet sketch on the Pasni beach.”
He informed that the group had been sketching such images since 2012.
Mukhtar, who is also a drawing teacher at a government school in his city, said he had purchased special tools to make sand paintings since he wanted to promote this unique form of art across the country.
“We have introduced the 3D beach art in Pakistan, and our group has sketched many veteran Baloch poets before,” he continued. “Since we do not have a drone camera, we have to hire one to capture the aerial view of our work since we want to share it with the rest of the world.”
The three artists have also received appreciation on social media for their recent endeavor which highlights the close relations between Pakistan and the UAE.
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan applauded them for their work as well while talking to Arab News.
“It is amazing how they have sketched the portrait in the coastal city of the province using their imagination,” he said.
Khan noted that drawing such images on the beach was not the same as drawing them on a computer or a piece of paper, adding that the dimension and canvas were both very different in this case.
Mukhtar said his group was also interested in drawing similar images in Karachi and Gwadar to inspire artists who wanted to sketch paintings on Pakistani beaches.