TANDO MUHAMMAD KHAN, SINDH: Babar Azeemi tilted the slender glass bottle and slipped in his brush with the caution of a man who knows making a mistake is not an option.
After all, there is no possibility of erasing paint from the inside of a bottle, which is the 45-year-old miniaturist’s chosen canvas.
According to Azeemi, who hails from Tando Muhammad Khan city in the southern Sindh province, he is the only person in Pakistan who uses this technique of creating portraits and figures on the inside walls of bottles.
Azeemi’s love for art began as a child when he started making sketches of his teachers and classmates. Later as a teenager, he would paint concrete walls in his hometown.
“When my father saw my artwork and my interest in art, he sent me to a local painter, Ashiq Ali, who helped me polish my drawing and painting skills,” Azeemi told Arab News in an interview at his home earlier this month.
“During this period, I was mostly making portraits of deceased people through my imagination coupled with the instructions provided by the family members, without seeing any photographs.”
Babar Azeemi sketches a portrait of a Sindhi woman at his residence in Tando Muhammad Khan, Pakistan, on June 20, 2023. (AN photo)
His artistic talents took a unique turn in 1997 when his father, after watching an artist on TV make a portrait inside a bottle, insisted Azeemi give the skill a shot also.
For the first few days, it was “impossible” to sketch inside a glass bottle without a drill, hole, or cut in the bottle.
But finally, after a few days, Azeemi melted a paintbrush and joined another brush stalk to it to create a unique design that could slip easily into a bottle and be used to paint the inside of the glass surface.
With practice and faith, Azeemi soon attained perfection and started making portraits of famous personalities inside glass bottles, including Mother Teresa, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar, Liaquat Ali Khan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and others.
Portraits of prominent figures painted by Babar Azeemi inside glass bottles are displayed at his residence in Tando Muhammad Khan, Pakistan, on June 20, 2023. (AN photo)
Azeemi would initially browse junk shops for used glass bottles but later began to get them as gifts from friends and family. As social media platforms became common, more and more people found out about his skill and orders for portraits in bottles started coming in.
“I have made many portraits and sketches through oil paint, canvas, live sketch, oil on paper, mix medium and ink in the paper, but I got fame and identity through my bottle art,” Azeemi said.
The miniaturist has also won several national and local accolades, and his artwork has been displayed in prominent art galleries in Singapore, Karachi, Lahore, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Nawab Shah, and other cities.
Aside from painting, the artist also provides training to art students in his city free of charge. Although he has only studied up to the twelfth grade, he encourages aspiring artists to focus on seeking professional art degrees and never giving up on art as a profession and career.
“For some moments, we lose hope, but we must keep our courage and keep working hard with trust in Allah,” he said.
“One day you will surely get to your destination and you will be known for your unique work.”
