“Welding burns you, I get burnt every day,” sculptor Ehtisham Jadoon told me from his Islamabad workshop. He spoke about marble floors cracking under the weight of his multi-tonne sculptures and hours spent tearing off bits of metal from his own skin, but zoom out a little and it all starts to make sense.
An ibex with rust-clad horns, a tyrannosaurus with gears for guts and a lion with a mane of steel cables — these are just some of the forms Jadoon has waiting for anyone who ventures to his ‘gallery,’ located just off GT Road. This wasn’t planned, the artist told me.
“I didn’t know what my passion was, and everyone has a different perspective on what [passion] means. I spent 35 years of my life without knowing who I am.” Jadoon explained he’s been looking for an outlet all his life; having tried martial arts and mountain biking, he found his calling in working with his hands.
“I later understood that [all my pent-up] energy can be channelled into creating forms,” he said. He started without any formal experience in the arts, having previously worked with his sister in her textile business and spending some time in construction.
Published: September 17, 2025 6:59 am
Source: Dawn — Read original