Ali Zafar auctions his art for a cause

Ali Zafar, who debuted in Tere Bin Laden will auction his paintings toraise funds for flood relief in Pakistan. Read on for more.

The alumni association of the College of Art and Design is organising a national exhibition of paintings and graphics at the Alhamra Art Galleries in Lahore on September 20, featuring over a hundred Pakistani artists, including Anna Molka Ahmad, Saeed Akhtar, Dr Rahat Naveed and Salima Hashmi. The proceeds will go towards the rehabilitation of craftsmen affected by the recent floods. The exhibition will travel to other cities like Islamabad, Faisalabad and Karachi.

In this elite crowd of artists, is Zafar and his son. Ali Zafar, who debuted in Tere Bin Laden, has been pianting since he was a child and has a degree in fine arts. At 18, he started doing 20-minute charcoal portraits in a hotel lobby. He sold them for Rs 500 a piece to raise money for his music albums and videos. Titanic had just released. Some women would hint for a painting like the one Leonardo DiCaprio makes for Kate Winslet. One of them was his wife, whom he later painted in acrylic.

“After I graduated, I stopped selling my works. Once I got busy with music, I stopped painting. I picked up the brush after seven years when my father asked me to be a part of this exhibition,” says Zafar. “For the last two days, he’s been trying to figure out what to paint.”