Dawn Images

Jimmy Engineer is one of Pakistan’s eminent artists. An exhibition of his artworks is underway at the Arts Council of Pakistan’s Ahmed Parvez Gallery.

Before that, the artist put his artwork on display at the Ocean Art Gallery. It carried, as is the case with the show at the council, a good number of canvas prints of his paintings made on a variety of subjects, including the displacement and struggle that took place during Pakistan’s independence movement. Engineer’s paintings on the pangs of migration are done with the kind of sensitivity and detailing that’s the hallmark of a quality artist.

At the gallery, a note penned by his daughter, Saroasha, added to the tenderness and affection with which the display had been put up. The statement begins with the heart-warming line, “My father taught me the meaning of love.” She ends it by quoting lines from the popular Michael Jackson song ‘Man in the Mirror’.

The President of the Arts Council of Pakistan, Ahmed Shah inaugurated the show at the Ocean Gallery as well as at the council. Speaking on the former occasion, he said: “Jimmy is a distinguished painter of our times who is known all over the world. He is a friend of mine.”

He said Engineer has exhibited his work in more than 50 countries. “He has designed many postage stamps. He has done calligraphy. He has painted nature. He has painted all of Pakistan’s historical buildings as well as Mohanjo Daro and Gandhara civilisations. I have come here as an admirer of the artist.”

Addressing the media at the opening of the exhibition on Friday, Engineer said, “The purpose of my life is to only promote the positive image of Pakistan. I have spent all my life with this purpose. In whatever life I have left, I’ll keep doing the same. I’ll keep promoting Pakistan. This is why I call myself a servant of Pakistan.”

The exhibition at the Arts Council will conclude on Feb 27.

Originally published in Dawn, February 24th, 2025