Boundless Creativity: The Intricate Allure of Pittston’s Rope Art Gallery

63-year-old retired primary school teacher and artist Qamar Al-Nisa Jokhio from Mohrabpur Tehsil of Nowshroo Feroze has set up a gallery of works of art made of cotton rope in the upper part of her house which she named ‘Sahiti Academy’. of Arts and Crafts’.

Qamar-ul-Nisa Jokhiw says, ‘His gallery has more than 800 pieces of art made of pit sun rope.’

All the artworks are made from pitsun rope.

According to Qamar Al-Nisa Jokhio, this gallery came into existence during the 2019-2020 lockdown when people were confined to their homes due to the epidemic.

Speaking to Independent Urdu, he said: ‘In 2018, when I got retirement from my school teaching job, I had nothing to do.’

‘I thought of doing something that would give me satisfaction and happiness. Then I made a few pieces of art with pitson rope that didn’t turn out so well at first. Then, with time and practice, there was a noticeable difference between them.’

Qamar Al-Nisa has Sindhi cultural artefacts in his gallery, including ‘Shah Ki Saat Surmiyan’ in the Sindhi gudi (doll) of Shah Latif’s poetry, the first Vice-Chancellor of Sindh University II Qazi and his wife Elsa Qazi and other scholars. Shaped artworks are on display.

She explains more about her work: ‘These pieces of art made from Pittson’s rope now look unique. In our childhood, this work was taught to the women of the house and it was also necessary in those days. As plastic toys are available in the market today, we had very little idea of ​​these toys in our childhood.’

‘There used to be bullock carts and other toys made of clay or such toys elaborately made from pitsun rope.’

Apart from characters from local cultural stories, his gallery has works of Mahatma Gandhi, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Queen Elizabeth II and Lady Diana.

From Mao Zedong, the founder of the Chinese Red Revolution, to Nelson Mandela, the black farm leader of South Africa, he has also tried to show them with the pitsun rope.

From Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister of the Muslim world and Pakistan, to Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, there are also portraits in his gallery.

Among the cultural and social figures of Pakistan, Dr. Adeebul Hasan Rizvi, Abida Parveen, GG Zareen Baloch and Sindhi folk artists have created miniatures.

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Describing the delicateness of his work, Qamar Al-Nisa further said that ‘The most challenging process is to mold the artwork into a human form, for example, if I want to make the shape of Sain GM Syed, I look at his photo and draw a rope. I turn them in such a way that they match their picture later.’

Materials used in the artworks include glue, waste paper, scraps of clothes lying around the house, thin wire and cotton rope.

According to Qamar Al-Nisa, a work of art costs barely 100 rupees.

He never sold his art to anyone, that’s why he never put a price on his art.

Qamar Al-Nisa presents her art in exhibitions as Pittson Artist.

Pittson, a retired primary school teacher, is also the author of two children’s books in addition to creating works of art.

He has written a book of poetry and a book of stories in children’s literature in Sindhi language.

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