Sanki King

Sanki King

King in 2015
Born Abdullah Ahmed Khan
1990 (age 25–26)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Nationality Pakistan
Known for Graffiti, Public art, Stenciling, Parkour, Bboying
Website www.sankiking.com

Abdullah Ahmed Khan (Urdu: عبداللہ احمد خان‎, born 1990)[1] professionally known as Sanki (Urdu: سنکی‎ pronunciation: i/sʌnkiː/) or Sanki King is a Pakistani graffiti artist, calligraffiti artist, street artist and a performing artist. Sanki is the pioneer of graffiti, calligraffiti, sneaker art, sticker art and b-boying in Pakistan and also one of the pioneers of parkour in Pakistan.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life

Sanki was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and raised in Karachi, Pakistan. His father worked at the Islamic Development Bank.[4] Sanki King is a self-taught artist whose talent emerged at an early age. After the loss of his mother at the age of nine, his father would buy him coloured pencils and colouring books so that the boy could express his feelings. In school, during art classes, he was the only student allowed to paint according to his wishes, while the class got on with copying.[2][6] He was introduced to hip hop a year after his mother's death and was influenced by films such as You Got Served. He learned the ropes through videos on the Internet. He also learned BMX, boxing and floor gymnastics.[4][7]

Career

King has been proficient in hip hop since the age of ten: rap, beatboxing, parkour, b-boying, DJing. He frequented gaming zones as a teenager and when a friend calling him ‘Sanki’ it stuck in his mind and became his identity. The term "Sanki" is thought to mean mad to crazy, but the artist claims it also means 'deep thinker'.[7] He started his journey in graffiti, parkour and b-boying between 2005-2006. In 2008, Sanki started his career as a professional performing artist after being noticed and photographed by Tapu Javeri while freerunning in a park in Karachi and later performed at the launch of Style 360. From 2011, he began selling artwork and painting commissioned murals as a professional artist and in March 2012 started his own personal studio where he currently works.[7]

Graffiti

Sanki next to his painting in a cafe in Zamzama, Karachi, June 2011
First art sticker created by Sanki King which features the founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah

Known for his wide range of skills from simple bubble letters to figurative graffiti, calligraffiti, stencil work and 3D letters. Sanki did "live graffiti art" for the first time in Pakistan in July 2012 and in the same month launched his Sticker Art Movement through a sticker which features the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.[1] In December 2012, he was chosen as the judge for a nationwide graffiti competition spread across seven cities.[8] Some of his well-known works include Love Karachi on a bus and another one titled Flying Kiss which he painted outside Arts Council of Pakistan in 2013. He painted the tallest graffiti in Pakistan in 2014 at the Valika Cricket Ground, University of Karachi.[5] His creations can be seen in areas like Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Zamzama and Clifton, Karachi outside Sanat Gallery, where he painted at the opening of his very first solo exhibition, "You should know him by now", on the 4th of June 2016.[9][10]

King is the only Pakistani artist to represent two of the most well-respected graffiti crews in the world, BMK - Beyond Mankind Krew; founded 1991, Queens, NYC and Ex-Vandals - Experienced Vandals; founded 1979, Brooklyn. Ex-Vandals is one of the first graffiti crews in the world.[4][11] Sanki's work is featured in Nicholas Ganz’s book, Street Messages, published in April 2015.[7][11][12] He is widely known as the "Banksy of Pakistan" to which he says "“But I don’t want to be a second Banksy, I want to be the first Sanki!”.[2]

Custom-painting and Fashion

Sanki King is known for his graffiti art on sneakers, using paint, marker pens and stencils. He originally came across the idea in the movies, taught himself the skills.[1] He now runs his own company making custom-painted sneakers and apparel, as well as organizing dance and graffiti workshops.[11]

In 2014, Sanki did his 1st fashion collaboration with a local designer brand "Zeb-Tan". His most poignant designer collection inspired by graffiti is called ‘Desirably Distressed’, which came out in March 2015. Elucidating on it, he said, “In 2012, I painted a shutter in Arsalan Iqbal’s store. Since Iqbal travels a lot, he finds graffiti very inspiring. Then in May 2014 we worked on a collaborative venture for the next 10 months, and it got published in the late March issue of Paperazzi magazine of Pakistan.” [12][13] Another collection called "Devolution Chic" was showcased a month later at the 8th PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2015.[14][15]

B-boying and Parkour

King is one of the early leaders of b-boying and parkour in Pakistan and began teaching a group of young kids between 2008–09, which later turned it into a b-boying crew, Unknown Crew (UC), founded in 2010 in Karachi. The have done performances for Jaag TV (previously known as CNBC Pakistan), HP Inc, Caltex, Play TV (Pakistan), Lux Style Awards and a number of music videos.[2][5][11]

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

Group Exhibitions

Personal life

Sanki King lives and works in Karachi.[11]

Publications

Works included:

Books

Works included:

Magazines

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Qamar, Saadia (July 30, 2012), Sanki King’s graffiti knows no boundaries, The Express Tribune.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Nasir Ahmad, Fouzia (December 22, 2013), Don't call me Banksy, DAWN.
  3. ↑ Mustefa, Zab (July 22, 2012), Street Smart, Cover story, The Express Tribune.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ahmed, Talha (January 22, 2014)'SANKI' COLORS IT ALL: THE FIRST GRAFFITI ARTIST OF PAKISTAN, Youlin Magazine.
  5. 1 2 3 Varma, Nandini (May 25, 2014), Graffiti artist brings hip hop to the streets, Campus Diaries.
  6. ↑ Husain, Marjorie (June 12, 2016), Portfolio: The writing on the wall, DAWN.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Subzwari, Shanzay (May, 2015), Sanki King: The Graffiti Artist Mastermind, ArtNow Magazine.
  8. ↑ Staff Reporter (December 23, 2012), Tetra Pak Graffiti Competition, The Nation.
  9. ↑ A Correspondent(June 9, 2016) Word on the street: Bringing graffiti art into mainstream, The Express Tribune.
  10. ↑ Khan, Nimra (June 10, 2016), Pakistan's First Serious Graffiti Artist Sanki King Enters The Art World With His First Exhibit, DAWN.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 A Correspondent (June 30, 2015), Multi-talented Pakistani Street Artist 'Sanki King' excels nationally and achieves international recognition as well!, House of Pakistan.
  12. 1 2 Qamar, Saadia (April 17, 2015), From shadowy times to vivid walls, The Express Tribune.
  13. 1 2 Desirably Distressed, Issue 81, page 54. March 22, 2015, Paperazzi Magazine.
  14. ↑ Press Release (April 22, 2015), PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week: Day-4 Journal, Pakistan Today.
  15. ↑ Fayyaz, Yousaf (April 21, 2015), House of Arslan Iqbal At PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2015, Ebuzz Today.

Sources

External links

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