Waseem Ahmed was born in 1976 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, Pakistan and he now lives and works in Lahore. His family migrated from India to Sindh at the time of partition to Pakistan in 1947 and, growing up as a muhajir (immigrant) in Sindh, Ahmed’s work decries social attitudes that promote suppression, hatred and bloodshed amongst human beings.
Waseem Ahmed is one of the leading miniature artists in Pakistan. His extraordinary series of miniatures discuss contemporary and highly topical issues. Mullahs are one of Ahmed’ s recurrent characters. They are delicately painted like saints or princes and their expression is filled with inner peace. Gardens are another recurrent subject matter symbolizing visions of paradise and they are often embellished with angels, calligraphy and heavenly figures. Also women wearing the Burka frequently appear in his work hinting terrorism and fear. The artist final aim is to represent the contradiction which lies between our life of desires and the transiency of life.
Ahmed honor his teacher, artist Ali Abbas, who was there for him as a mentor and guardian angel through the time when he needed it most. He explained that while still a student, he developed the habit of working at his paintings for several hours each day and maintains this practice up to the present time.
The distinguished miniaturist Waseem Ahmed, graduated from the National College of Arts (above 70%marks) In the Department of Miniature Painting with Honors in 2000, and since 2001 has been showing his work throughout Pakistan to a positive response. His paintings have been widely exhibited in Greece, Nepal, India, Japan, Oman, Pakistan and pretty much all over the world. He continues to explain how the world over it is been a norm to segment genres. He emphasizes that “small does not mean miniature”. A miniature painting is distinct with its rules from perspective, pigment, technique, simplification and elements of nature. Just like all subjects are unique and have their own vocabulary, miniature painting is a complete subject with its own vocabulary. It has evolved and shaped itself through different practices and times but some core values have remained constant and they are like the laws of any subject Contemporary miniature in the world now is getting undivided attention. I question Ahmed about its position as an art…it’s confrontational and powerful, unsettling connect with tradition/region and for once, being a contemporary painter myself, I get a rational, reflective and convincing answer.
Ahmed’s imagery is a playful dialogue; it is coherently serious in its urge to play. For example his famous Krishna series… Krishna, a seller of grass…a god – it is a shift of roles – what is he worth as a ‘die-hard’ lover of beauty goddess Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe, posing and planning ways to impress her in the works while she lives unaffected and estranged.
Melding tradition and contemporary views, the artist displays paintings that allow him the freedom to incorporate classic elements with contemporary interventions. It appears the artist is actually commenting on the current developments taking place currently in the field of miniature art.
Ahmed’s works can also be found in important international private and public collections, such as the the British Museum in London and the Anupam Poddar Collection in India.
Waseem Ahmed divides his time between painting and teaching his discipline to students of the Miniature Art department of National College of Arts, Lahore.
