Aqeel Solangi From Sign & Cinema Boards to Painting memories

The first impression one gets when looking at Aqeel Solangi’s art work is that he is one of those few people in Pakistan who are attached to their roots and fully dedicate themselves for their profession.

He is professor in the Fine Arts Department at the National College of Arts’ (NCA) Rawalpindi branch. First he started his career by joining Mehboob Painters (a sign and cinema board painter in 1996-97 at Khairpur, Sindh. Then later he joined the Department of Fine arts at the National College of Arts, Lahore , in 2000, and passed with honours in 2003. He completed his Masters (Hons) in Visual Arts in 2005. He also painted huge-size backdrops for commercial and art photography while also designing photo albums.
Solangi was awarded the Young Talent award 2006 by Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) and his work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including U.S.A, U.K, Canada and India .


For Solangi art is not just a means of expression but knowledge as well. Be it painting or some thing else, it keeps one’s soul alive and provides a thought for new visions.

Solangi’s work is a testament to that as he features an oval object in approximately all of his works, which, according to him, is a play on the spotlight used in stage performances; and at the same time, is a metaphor to draw attention to time and memories of life. He paints these spotlights on life filled with periwinkles, representing time and, therefore, memories.