Pakistani artist, Waqas Khan’s work has been featured in The Guardian’s Destination Masterpiece listicle that featured “75 great artworks to see across the UK.”
As per the publication, critics selected the most “intriguing and important paintings, sculptures, installations” for people to experience in the summer. Khan’s artwork “Khushamdeed II” is placed near the entrances to Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester Museum, and The Whitworth that linking three venues with a warm greeting to people across the city.
The artwork is designed in the Urdu language. Waqas Khan chose the word because it’s a significant word in Indo-Persian vocabulary. According to him, “It represents the liberating feel of anonymity and a judgment-free passage, where there is no discrimination or distinction. Its literal meaning is to salute a newcomer with kindness, to receive and entertain hospitably and cheerfully to welcome a visitor or a new idea.”
His welcoming sign can be read straight bright when one enters the galleries. Khan hails from Lahore and creates cosmic drawings and paintings. The publication has described his work as “almost trance-like experiences.”
“Khan toils for months to make a single piece with painstaking marks that suggest almost trance-like experiences. There’s a warm, optimistic vision in all his work – here stated simply in neon that says ‘welcome’ in Urdu,” wrote the publication.
Waqas Khan: the Pakistani artist who makes you want to say yes http://t.co/ixkEyIq2mV
— The Guardian (@guardian) February 26, 2015
Read more: Pakistani artist paints a huge wall with Truck Art in Sri Lanka
Earlier, Pakistani artist Ali Salman Anchan undertook an exciting venture of promoting Pakistan’s indigenous Truck Art in Sri Lanka. The project was arranged in collaboration with the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo to promote Pakistan’s heritage globally.
With a wide spectrum of bright colors and masterstrokes, the artists of Phool Patti have painted a wall of size 40×8 that highlights the cultural heritage of both Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The primary aim of painting the wall is to acquaint and familiarize the Sri Lankan community with the rich Buddhist heritage in Pakistan.