We hung out with Waqas at Frieze and found out what makes him tick...
I love people! I love that they look at my work and wonder to themselves, they are attracted by the work and so they forget everything! I love when they stand quietly in front of one of my drawings, I love the interaction with humans. Technology is so present in our daily life, but when regarding my work, another notion of time emerges.
My behaviour, the way in which I work and live my life is dictated by Sufi philosophy, I love life deeply, and love is universal. On arriving in a new city, I don’t like sight-seeing straight away. First, I want to go to a garden, sit on a bench and look at the world, breathe in the city. We are all the same, we are human beings, nothing distinguishes us, neither nationality, nor religion.
The Breath of the Compassionate VI (2015)
Archival ink on wasli paper, 56 x 93 in.
You work on increasingly large surfaces, is that right?
Yes, it’s true, I really want to challenge myself. In the beginning a large format took me much longer to complete. Now, I have more training and more experience and discipline, more ease. I’m almost in a trance when making my art, but at the same time I’m human, I do things at my own pace. I’m preparing a very big installations for the Dhaka Art Summit, it will be something impressive, I’ve already completed half of it.
Waqas runs off... "I have to go and watch people watching my drawings!"
Portrait by Anne Maniglier
