Local Pakistani artist A.H Ansari has done something that will inspire every Pakistani to go beyond their limits.
Ansari who hails from Karachi and loves to work on different mediums of art has created a unique portrait of Quaid-E-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah from 1 rupee coins.
Making portraits and art from coins isn’t something new and many international artists have created masterful art using coins/pennies. But in Pakistan, A.H Ansari is probably the first person to create a portrait of our leader from coins.
FOR ANSARI, IT TOOK ALMOST 3 YEARS OF HARD WORK
Making a portrait from coins may sound like an ordinary task, but for Ansari, it took almost 3 years of hard work to complete the project. Ansari faced difficulty in making his portrait because he decided to exclusively use 1 Rupee coins made from copper.
UNFORTUNATELY, RUPEE 1 COPPER COINS HAD BEEN DISCONTINUED SINCE 2010
Unfortunately, these coins had been discontinued since 2010 and Ansari was left with no choice but to go out and collect these coins from people. His search took him to many places.
HE EVEN COLLECTED COINS FROM BEGGARS
He collected coins from beggars and as well as bought them off people for Rs. 20 – Rs. 200. After eventually spending 3 years looking for the coins, Ansari had finally collected 5240 coins, enough to finish his project.
His portrait of Quaid-E-Azam was first displayed at the ‘Portrait of Quaid-E-Azam’ exhibition in December 2018 in State Bank Museum of Pakistan which featured portraits from known senior artists including Professor Saeed Akhtar.
What Ansari has done today will truly inspire Pakistani artists to go way beyond their limits to achieve the impossible. While Ansari could have completed the portrait using available coins, he chose not to.
Other works of A.H Ansari
This isn’t the first time Ansari has done something unique. He also participated in an event where artists from all over had to make something out of garbage including old clothes and furniture. Ansari had created something out of an old pair of jeans.
More About A.H Ansari
Ansari doesn’t really have any professional education in Arts. He has a diploma in commerce and has spent 6 months in a short art course. But art has always been his passion and that has enabled him to create such beautiful pieces of art.
He has taken part in many competitions and has even emerged victorious in few.
Much of his work is displayed at the State Bank Museum of Pakistan in Karachi.
