-Visual Artist and Talent-
Mariam Ahmed
Graphic Novel and Viral Campaign
Do not take this body of work as a joke and please stay prepared to be confronted by a chalawa at all times!
The protagonist meets his friends the following morning and informs them of the strange happening . The oldest and wisest tells him that he has bee chosen as a prey by the wrathful Chalawa! he must go to a specific location in the city at a particular time and say a code word to an undercover agent who will give him a manual that will help him protect himself against the Chalawa.
About Chalawa
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The graphic novel titled "Chalawa" meaning 'the decievers" was based on an urban myth. Chalawas are a gang of notorious beings that are exteremly sly and agile. The have never been caught and have robbed and cheated score of people all over the city of Karachi. Those who have caught a glimpse of these elusive rouges say that they can jump as hight as a five story buliding and are extremely slipery and thus can not be gripped. Some also claim that these Chalawas can see in the dark and in spite of their narrow frames have unbelievable physical strength.
We must caution you that the Chalawas have there eyes everywhere.
Taking the Artwork to the People.
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This novel was inspired by the people and urban culture of my city, so I took it to them. Along with displaying the original work in a gallery, I also published and distributed the novel in the market places where it was conceived.
Along with this I constructed a kalaidescope that was fitted to my bicycle, literally giving wheels to the show. The show was publicized through posters that were pasted in the locations of the show a few days before it arrived on the scene.
Along with this I also executed a public art project with the local truck painters, who helped me paint our protagonists image on several oil tankers that went on ong routes. The drivers of these tankers were given copies of the novel to share with the people they met on their route. Thus taking Chalawa beond the boundries of Karachi.
Kayal Kahana : Public Art Project
In 2007-2008 I started off an art group that was called Kahayl-Khana ( The Idea's Hub). The main agenda of this group was to take the visual art to the public, especially to those people who feel inhibitted to walk into a galler space.
We wokred in collaboration with VASL which is an established art organization of Pakistan. The images here are a visual record of one of our projects for which we got stalls in the local markets all over Karachi and involved the children who work in these markets and those who visit it to explore varios art mediums. The children were also introduced to siplme techniques and the basics of fine art.
Click on the red button towards your right for more information on VASL.