Footnotes

Provenance
Property from a private collection, Singapore.
Acquired from the artist;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

The 'Save the Margallas' society was formed by a group of concerned citizens in response to a proposed plan by the government of Pakistan to construct a road through the Margalla Hills National Park. The proposed road would have destroyed large parts of the park, including its flora and fauna, and would have had a significant negative impact on the environment and the quality of life of the people living in the area. The society organised several protests, rallies, and campaigns to raise awareness on the issue and to put pressure on the government to abandon the road project. Their efforts were successful, as authorities abandoned the plan to construct the road.

Bashir Mirza, or BM, in addition to being an artist, writer and advertisement man, was also a renowned environmentalist. Known for his landscape paintings that depicted the natural beauty of Pakistan's mountains and forests, he was passionate about conservation issues. In 1989 this culminated in him donating a large painting titled 'Save the Margallas' to the Save the Margallas society which was auctioned off to raise funds for the organisation's conservation efforts.

The present lot is a fine example of his signature style of poster works and is dedicated to Iqbal Siddiqui. The poster might have been based on the original painting that was donated to the society in 1989, as seen by the wording on the bottom left of the poster; 'A Painting by Bashir Mirza, for Margalla Hills Society,' although the poster is dated BM 91 on the upper left. These poster works produced at Atelier BM advertising, as seen on the bottom right of the poster, were created at various points in his career. They combined vivid colours and graphic imagery and featured social or political commentary. Inspired by popular culture, street art and advertising are a testament to BM's creative vision and artistic skill. Other examples of posters include 'The Pakistan' and 'The Struggle.'