Personal Spaces – Shahid Sajjad’s

The casting of hand prints of his grand children by Shahid Sajjad

It was a privilege to be inside Shahid Sajjad’s personal space which is situated somewhere in PECHS neighborhood. A surreal setting of pulleys, chimneys, chains, sculptures, stoves, kettles, kilns and other stuff which I could not identify. This is where he created some of his most prized work.

Shahid Sajjad, left his home in Lahore at a tender age and made Karachi his abode. He joined world of advertising and left it too when the wilderness called. He left on a bike and roamed across many countries in Europe and Asia. Eventually he settled for sometime in tribal area of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and probably this is where his interest in wood carvings began. He used bronze and other materials in his art later. His bronze mural at Nowshera that he did for the Armored Corps Division Headquarters is considered to be the most iconic of his work – possibly the largest in the world of its kind. Even his studio is considered a marvel where he pioneered various ways of bronze casting. He passed away in July 2014.

His advice to his son gives us an insight into kind of a person he was: A life time learner, a curious soul.

“Trying to be successful is only to feel secure, and security leads to stagnation. It is only when you are vulnerable and insecure that you learn – just because you are open to new ideas and your surroundings”