by Manjit Handa

Born in Afghanistan, in the year 1964, son of an “Afghan intellectual” father, who was a writer and an ethnographer, and a mother who was “illiterate but very smart”, Yar Taraky’s life as an artist was preordained. Originally Taraky’s family belonged to the Ghazni province in Afghanistan but they moved to Kabul when he was only a year old.

Although his father was well educated, won a literary prize in 1975 and worked at various places as a History teacher at the Academy of Sciences and The Department for Struggle against Illiteracy in Afghanistan, the family suffered “social”, “financial” and “housing” problems. One of the causes was a large family of nine people. Taraky remembers that they did not have a house of their own and were always “renting”. He also remembers that one of his sisters passed away at the age of three due to lack of medication and medical attention.”.

When Taraky was a child, his father was writing a book on the traditions of the people of Afghanistan and Taraky was doing the illustrations for the same. That is when he realized that he enjoyed doing it so much and had a “passion” for it. Life in those days was difficult because of poverty and the only thing that made him “happy” was “to take a pencil and paper and draw”. At the age of twelve Taraky got his first canvas and he remembers he would be sleeping with it so that “nobody would touch it”.

The major turning point in his life came when his father passed away at the young age of fifty six when he was only fourteen years old. That is when he started working and simultaneously thinking seriously about art. That was one of his “major” victories. Second major challenge Taraky faced in the year 1997 when he was given an injection in his left ankle and he almost lost his foot. He underwent various surgeries and operations but nothing helped. For about a year he was bed-ridden and could not walk. He had lost all hope.

Around that time he moved to Canada with his family. People in Canada were very friendly and helpful. He was unable to work and remained in “bad spirits” generally. In that mood he painted series of paintings that had the themes of massacres, punishments and bloodshed. This further put him into low spirits and sadness. Then he thought of another strategy. He started making paintings with a theme of joy, happiness, laughter and people playing musical instruments and dancing with gay abandon.

With each muscle and instrument he was painting, he says, he could actually feel the energy and happiness being “transferred” to him. That is when art “empowered” him, was “therapeutic” and he said to himself,”I have to get up and walk” and he actually overcame his hurdle and regained his health back. This was his second big “victory”. According to him painting the “opposite” of whatever the harsh reality he was undergoing, acted as a therapy for him.

A supporter of “non-violence”, that is the reason why he could never paint gloomy and pathetic political scenes. That always left him unsettled. But he claims his paintings still always have a social message. Today he is the director of Immigrant Culture and Art Association (ICAA), Hamilton, Canada. As a director, he is presently acting as a mentor to artists, writers and musicians.

When asked about Taraky’s teacher and Muse, he tells us that his father used to take him to an Afghan senior artist Khair Mohammed who taught him few things about Art when he was about six years old. Apart from that he has had few teachers and friends who did inspire him but his biggest inspiration is “life” itself, the one that he lived and learnt from. He attended courses of Visual Arts sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Afghanistan in 1975. In the year 1977, he participated for the first time in an Art Competition that won him an award. In 1982, he participated in the Junior Art Exhibition and thereafter he participated in many mores shows and exhibitions. There was no looking now. While he joined the Rehzad Academy of Fine Arts in Tashkent Uzbekistan, he got his Masters in the Fine Arts in the year 1994.

Taraky puts men and women on an equal footing and thinks that their only difference is “biological”. He strongly feels that women should actively participate in every walk of life and even politics which would make this world a more corruption free place.

Taraky has worked with water colors and oil but pencil is his “all time favorite”.

His message to the budding and upcoming Artists:

It is a difficult time for artists who want to take Art as a profession especially “financially”. But “they should not quit” and keep up the good work by inspiring themselves with the fact that very soon in future they will get their due, what with Art playing an important role in fields ranging from “Technology”, “Graphic designing”, “Computers”, “Biology”, “Medicine”, “Physics” or “Mathematics”. With the advent of “camera” and “computer” people said that painting was no more the in-thing, but it did not happen. Similarly there is no threat to Art from anything. It is sure to survive.

Art as a Healer:

Taraky strongly feels that people suffering from various illnesses whether “depression” or “psychological imbalance” or victims of financial, racial and criminal problems could benefit a great deal from Art because when you are painting or drawing, “you are with yourself” and there is nobody around to affect your “transformation”. That is generally a therapeutic moment when you give an outlet to your inner turmoil.

At the Immigrant Culture and Art Association, they have a small school which is like a studio where new artists are welcome to share their works of Art. There is an attempt to create a “mosaic” where people from different cultures come and express their Art work.

Taraky’s mission:

“My mission is Life. I have seen the ups and downs of life. Now I want to do everything for the community that celebrates Art.”

Yar Taraky’s life is symbol of struggle, survival and hope. His story inspires us to fight the odds of life with grit and optimism without giving in. Through his work, he has shown that our inner desire and resolution can beat the seemingly insurmountable difficult circumstances and help us propel towards realizing our dreams.

[As narrated to Parmjit Singh]

Yar Taraky can be reached at:

Immigrant Culture and Art Association (ICAA)
51, Stuart Street, Hamilton ON
L8L 1B5, Canada
Tel: (905) 529-0181, Fax: (905) 522-5424
Website: http://www.immigrantart.org
Email: icaa@immigrantart.org

Painting by Yar Taraky
Photograph of Yar Taraky by Parmjit Singh