Today at TYS we bring to you fresh art, layered with creativity, sprinkled with a zest of uniqueness and with a spoonful of salt. We bring to you, Bashir Sultani, a 29 year old Afghani Canadian artist who has grabbed our attention along with a huge fan frenzy on instagram for his out of the box method of portraiture, sketching and creating various other art works by using salt.
Bashir creates these refreshing art pieces by spilling salt on a black background and using basic tools such as Q tips, a razor blade and his hands. The time taken for creating each salt art piece takes 4 hours, but is covered in 5 minute videos to keep it interesting for the viewers. According to him, more than all the basic tools and materials required, patience is the key to create something beyond imagination.
He shares the entire process of making most of his salt art and sketches through videos on Youtube and Instagram. It is so refreshing that it will make you want to spill some salt on the table and create something with your bare hands. With an entire platter of different portraits made of white salt, colored pen sketches and paintings on a bed of pencils, his website is something which mesmerized and captivated me, evoking the urge to comb through every picture. How was Bashir drawn towards art and sketching? What made Bashir take up such a unique and surreal medium of art?
I always used to draw, even before high school. I was sketching my classmates and making art projects for our class. I love to create and use any media that’s around. Mostly, I appreciate traditional art – when you have just a pencil and an idea. I like an idea or message more than drawing itself.
And, what about salt?
Salt is a very easily available medium. It’s the most common spice and not costly at all.
The Art with Salt series, is an archive of videos made by Bashir showcasing his work along with tutorials. The series not only covers portraits of celebrities like Tupac Shakur, Lady GaGa, Gisele Bundchen, Walter White, Che Guevara, Morgan Freeman, Al Pacinio and Kurt Cobain, but also salt art on symbolism, cartoons and video game characters. One artwork which took my breath away and had me in jitters, was the salty galaxy. Bashir knits the galaxy with the stars, splash of colors, the sun, planets and much more by using colored salt and his hands. The video is a must watch and I’m sure it’ll make you want to curate all his priceless art works in your immediate surroundings. If you want to know more about his Art with Salt series, this what Bashir has to say (as found in one of his interviews),
We see amazing art all around and people always want to know how the artist created them. They want to see the process from beginning to end. Unfortunately, often you see a super realistic drawing, but the artist cannot show how it’s done. It’s very difficult to show how something is made. Artists that film the process of their work will agree. When I started posting my videos on Youtube, I wanted to show the process, but my main concern was that I should make it entertaining to watch.
All of Bashir’s works can be seen on his official website and other social media platforms. Click on it and add a dash of Salt to your much craved food of art.
