In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Sarah Khan talks about Pakistani art and artists, how the city has changed since her last visit and her book.
Khan is a fan of traditional Pakistani art, the country’s “genuine art identity”. She said the “rampant” traces of inspiration from European art were a “shock” for her. She said she had not expected to see the kind of influence European and, in some cases, American art has had on young Pakistani artists.
“Pakistan has a rich culture and art. Young artists must focus on exploring that rather than copying art which does not exist in their history. This causes [viewers to detach] from an artist’s work because they cannot relate to it.” She said artists needed to understand that European and American art traditions were completely different from those of the South Asian region, especially Pakistan and India.
“In an attempt to be like someone they cannot be, they mess up.” Commenting on her experience in Lahore this time as compared to her previous visits – one each in the 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s – she said that swarming traffic had destroyed the city’s beauty.
About Pakistanis, she noted, “People here like to talk a lot. They are constantly talking.”
“People here are not aware that there is a ‘Pakistan’ in every country,” said Khan. “There is one Pakistan in the world, but many Pakistani worlds outside it. I grew up in one such world and now I want to write about it.” That is the inspiration for her new book, which will be about the Pakistani Diasporas in Germany and the UK.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2013.