I graduated from College of Art and Design, Punjab University Lahore and then did my Masters (MFA) from the same institute.
As far as my memories take me back into the early years of my life, I remember two obsessions that always possessed me day in and day out consistently and persistently, namely my fascination for the built – heritage of my country and my fondness to play with wet clay. With the former I was enamored because of the vivacity, monumentality, diversity of surface treatment and above all its antiquity and Diasporas in time and space. As regards wet clay, I am always impressed with its silken touch, its malleability to adapt to any shape; its readiness to bend, fold and mold; its agility to let it be carved and sculpted and the ease with which it facilitate artists to receive incised, appliquéd, relief and painted decorations. I have lived with these obsessions for a long time but always had the feeling that the two must be interwoven with each other and seen together in an anatomical relationship with each other. However, it took a long time before I succeeded in finding a successful and logical solution for this union of my two childhood dreams.
Heritage is what gives a nation its identity. It is certainly true in case of the built-heritage of Pakistan. This rich and varied heritage still pervades through our historical cities and towns; reverberates in our bazaars, streets and allays and pulsates through mosques and mausoleums, forts and majestic havalies. In deed our built-heritage, both past and contemporary, is still a part of our historical personality. We feel proud if any part of it is still found well preserved and get concerned if we see it crumbling due to sheer neglect of our own.
At the time of our independence we had a variety of monuments as a significant record of our glorious heritage. Our over sixty years of history is a sad reflection of constant deterioration in almost every department of our country. The monuments which existed in 1947 have either disappeared totally or are at the verge of complete annihilation. Even those monuments which are on the World Heritage list have been subjected to criminal neglect and vandalism.
The built-heritage that was once my obsession, has now been turned into a passion for different art forms; a mission to promote and a national obligation to create an awareness to preserve it for our posterity. A flower in a garden may not attract a passerby. But if the same flower becomes a part of a flower arrangement and is placed in a drawing room it attracts the attention of everybody. With the same considerations, I have selected some dilapidated, neglected, forgotten elements of monuments which no one bothers to look at. Through my work I have endeavored to create an awareness to save our built-heritage.