The Faculty of Built Environments at University of New South Wales (UNSW) showcased their graduation show at Pier 2/3 Walsh Bay Sydney.The Show featured selected works and portfolios of all students from the Bachelor's and Master's degree programs (Industrial Design, Architectural Computing, Architectural Design, Interior Architecture and MUDD Urban Design. The display and work was of high quality. I found a lot of laser cut pieces (models).It was good to know that the university and the faculty took interest in the display aesthetics and was also successful to get some sponsors as well. Continue reading

So, I took guidance from the the sothern cross and found myself in the land of red earth, white sand beaches and kangaroos ...yep its the Commonwealth of Australia. Its great to be in Australia and this is the reason I have not been active on my blog. From now on I 'll be updating you with all the experiences and topics from sydney and around the aussie land ! Continue reading

Reconstruction is the most important exhibition of contemporary fashion that the British Council has presented in recent years. The exhibition will travel to five countries between 2011 and 2012. It started in October last year from Kazakhstan and is coming to Pakistan on 10 March 2012 after travelling to Uzbekistan and Bangladesh. The exhibition will be showcased in Karachi from 11 to 16 March 2012 at Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture and in Lahore from 27 to 31 March 2012 at the Lahore Museum. From Lahore, the exhibition will travel to Russia. Reconstruction shows that fashion is not... Continue reading

A postal stamp issued by the Pakistan Postage in honor of formor His Imperial Highness Raza Pehlvi , Emperor and Shah of Iran. Continue reading

For all 'jag mag-jag mag' embellishment fans out there, here's one of my desigs for an embellished Lehnga (long skirt) for my bride Isbah - who carried it with absolute elegance :) It took two months to finsish.Main aid was my mother who helped me in selecting the materials and stones and finalizing the color palette.As opposed to the conventional-traditional -regional palette (Blues & Greens) for the Valima Reception (Reception from the Groom), I decided to go for a more monochromatic earthern palette with the accents of turquoise and rust . Continue reading

Bahadur Shah Zafar -The last Mughal emperor of the Subcontinent . After the failed rebellion of 1857 , the empreor was exiled to Rangoon (Burma) by the British Administation .This prensentation of Mughal glamor is truely reflected in the miniature painting (above) Continue reading

The National College of Arts (Lahore, Pak) hosted the annual undergraduate and postraduate degree shows. Some of the most beautiful workd were presented by the graduating batch of Textile design. Continue reading

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy was all over news and facebook for her OSCAR win. She has definately made the Pakistanis proud- in particular the visual arts community. Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won Best Documentary (Short Subject) for Saving Face. SOC wore Karachi based designer Bunto Kazmi's creation in beige for the occasion. Continue reading

So I'm back, after the loooongest break ever. Heres an image of an Ikat project that I did. This is done through warp painting.The proposed product is a tabble runner. Continue reading

A few days back, while surfing through the sunday edition of the daily newspaper, I ran across the 'filmi safha' - film ads page. It always brings a smile on my face for 'some reason' :) Afterall its a home production being offered at the cinema halls in the Islamic Republic - How more dual standards can we afford as a society?..... but hey, on a serious note, please enjoy the visual : Continue reading

Here's what 'the Book Lovers blog' writes about Maha Khan's creation (and i couldnt agree more) : The basic premise of the book is of three school friends and BFF who are as different from each other as can be! Amynah Farooqui is a columnist who writes an anonymous gossip column about Karachi’s page 3 crowd and exposes the life of drugs, sex, alcohol, sleaze of these very people. Totally opposite to her are her two friends Mumtaz who is a drug baron’s daughter and Henna who is a leading politician’s daughter. Amynah herself is totally unapologetic about her own... Continue reading

Last saturday , I spent a considerable time among the book shelves at the Variety Book Store in Liberty (Lahore).By the way , it was after a very long time that I had decided to check out the books available.Among other books and stuff I bought, "Beautiful from this Angle" by Maha Khan Phillips is of considerable importance.Reason being I had never a bought a fiction created by some desi writer and also that the plot of the story is something I can relate to.( as an unconventional Pakistani).I Shall be coming up with a review , once Im done... Continue reading

The Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) Fashion Week( Autumn/Winter 2011) started with a bang at the Expo Centre in Lahore Last week.A daily dose of stylish ingredients made its waves with some established and emerging talent on the catwalk ramp.Apart from the garment designers , this time a separate segment named' VOILE Shows' was also introduced featuring the Voile- Lawn brands from across the country.Among design schools , the pretigeous PIFD - Pakistan Institute of Fashion & Design also showcased its collection (graduating class). I shall be posting pictures as caught by the photographers as well as my dear nokia... Continue reading

Some days back, we had conducted an assignment based on block printing.The first part was to carve (Lino cut) their own portraits on a lino sheet (lasani wood) .The students composed their portraits on a scale of 4"x4" and adjusted it with a pattern in back ground. Later they were asked to produce samples done with the stamping of the carved design.The results were experimental as well amazing. Hang on for the wood carved block printing results !! (to be posted soon) :) Continue reading

Coke Studio is a Pakistani television series featuring live music performances. The program focuses on a fusion of the diverse musical influences in Pakistan, including eastern classical, folk, and contemporary popular music. The show provides a platform for renowned as well as upcoming and less mainstream artists, from various genres and regions, to collaborate musically in live studio recording sessions. Season One premiered on June 8, 2008 and included a live audience. Season Two premiered on June 14, 2009 without a live audience, eliminating the associated background noise and providing a more intimate atmosphere.Coke Studio has been popular, receiving critical... Continue reading

With winters at full swing in Lahore , the temperatures are bound to produce some chills here.Luckily different brands ( local and foreign) are cashing up on this change in weather.Following is the picture of window display at NEXT(Xinhua Mall) in Gulberg Lahore.i found it interesting. Soon after this appeared ,the 'Stone Age' people were quick to bring their own display inspired by this.( that should rather be termed as a cheap copy) I really like this display but the prices at NEXT are out of range.I would rather prefer some local brand like CrossRoads or maybe Outfitters Continue reading

Matthys Gerber was born in Delft, the Netherlands in 1956, moved to Denmark in 1965 and has lived in Sydney since 1971. He is primarily a painter who regularly makes excursions to photography and sculpture. The work explores the relationships and borders between the various inherited modernists tropes and hovers anywhere from abstract expressionism to photorealism and often blurs the boundaries. A major aspect of recent work has been in the possibilities of a regional type of painting, by developing relationships to indigenous motifs following an interest in the work of the modernist New Zealand artist Theo Schoon. Matthys Gerber... Continue reading

Erin Lynch writes : "Romanian-based designer, Ștefan Lucuț’s work is a mix of type, photography, and vector elements, infused with a modern, contemporary feel. He mixes vibrant colors, serifed typography and primitive shapes to create imagery that is both bold and strong. Despite the minimalist nature of his site, it does not take long to recognize the maturity and imagination that comes through in his work." Continue reading

The Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) staged its second annual fashion week (and this time it was held in karachi). So far the reviews (that I've read in the news paper) are pretty good. The best collections were shown by Saai (Sahar Atif), Akif Mehmood, Fahad Hussayn ,Kamiar Rokni, Elan, Sublime and a few others.Following are a few shots taken during the shows.Ill be coming up with the detailed post(s) later..... Continue reading

One day I decided to look for some Urdu Fiction at Feroze sons Ltd outlet lon Mall road in Lahore.It had been such a long time that I had read some urdu novel or some fiction.All I could find was some peices of Tarzan or a mystery series.I think I need to surf more through the Urdu Bazar in Lahore to get some classic editions. Continue reading

Hey huys, wishing everyone the best on this eid . Lets not forget the miserable plight of the unfortunate internally displaced people of the flood affected areas.I think , we should reserve a portion of our sacrifice meat for them, they are truely the poor and needy ones. Heres the picture of our animal for the sacrifice :) A GOAT !!! I always like the decorations that the sellers put on the animals to attract the customers in the market . Following is the photograph taken in the local sweets' mithai' shop ' Food Festival'.They had specially decorated each and... Continue reading

Kamiar Rokni is among many Pakistani Fashion Designers showing their collections for the spring summer 2011 at the PFDC fashion week being held at Karachi.Kamiar has always been presenting his avante garde flavor in the fashion scene of the country. wikipedia writes about Kamiar Rokni : Kamiar 'Kami’ Rokni is a popular Pakistani fashion designer. Kami graduated from Pakistan School of Fashion Design in 2000 and launched Karma with Maheen Ali in 2001. He was the creative mind behind the label which quickly rose to prominence, becoming one of the most sought after brands in Pakistan. Kami introduced and popularized... Continue reading

While surfing online , I found this self taught designer 'Jamaica Byles'.Her sence of pattern makes one wonder the creation of such design,with absolutely no formal training ???thats hard to believe but impressive at the same time the 'printpattern' blog writes : "shawn byles is self taught artist with a passion for surface design whose work is, for the most part, inspired by indian, turkish, persian, and victorian motifs. they are colorful and highly ornate and available for licensing. shawn has no formal training, and is in fact a physician by day, but has an absolute and overwhelming love of... Continue reading

The Kaaba (Arabic: الكعبة‎: The Cube) is a cube-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The building predates Islam, and, according to Islamic tradition, the first building at the site was built by Ibrahim. The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if they are able to do so. Multiple parts of... Continue reading

While surfing through the Jinnah Super market in Islamabad,I came across my favourite book shop there ; 'Saeed Book Bank'.This time ,all the other new entrees, the textile art/craft n design section had a new book to offer : 'Textiles Now' by Drussila Cole.the book had a good content to present (works of artists/ designers from world over, woking as print artists n designers). The best part was the cover page which featured a design ,done in velvet emboss relief. Continue reading