Mobile Masterpieces: South Asia's Dazzling ‘Trucks and Tuks’
A new book documents the diverse decorations found on working vehicles from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka.
There are many things that unite us as a species, and one of them is the desire to decorate our working vehicles. From the Jeepneys of the Philippines and the Danfo of Nigeria, to the Dekotora of Japan and the boats of the Amazon, these mobile masterpieces reflect the character of their owners and the cultures in which they originate.
Some of the most famous artworks on wheels are those from India, as profiled in Shantanu Suman's 2013 documentary, Horn Please. ('Horn Please' is the wording painted on the back of trucks telling those overtaking to sound their horn as a warning to the truck driver.)
However, it's no surprise that India's South Asian neighbours — Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka — also have their own traditions of vehicle decoration, eg Pakistan's Phool Patti. These traditions, alongside those from India, are collectively represented in Trucks and Tuks, the new book from photographer Christopher Herwig.
The photography that fills the bulk of the book approaches its subject matter from numerous angles, with scenes of life on road ranging from trucks navigating treacherous mountain passes to tuk tuks jostling for position on busy urban streets.
People also feature prominently, with those driving and working the vehicles joined by the wider public that they pass each day. We see inside the customised cabins of the long-distance truckers, while they also peer out at us, framed by their painted places of work.
In the cabin in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and moving along a quieter street in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photos: Christopher Herwig.
Photo books like these, in spite of their stunning imagery, are often let down by a lack of written material that places their contents in context. This is not the case with Trucks and Tuks, which is bookended by two texts, the first of which is an extended introductory essay by Riya Raagini. This explores the origins and evolution of South Asian vehicle decoration and the current political and technological threats to these traditions.
Left to right, from top: Jaipur, India; Rawalpindi, Pakistan; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Jaipur, India; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Kathmandu, Nepal. Photos: Christopher Herwig.
The essay explores the significance of the decorations themselves, showing how these draw from, and combine, religious symbolism, popular culture, politics, and literature. The meaning of motifs from the animal kingdom, architecture, and even other vehicle types, are also explained. This is placed within the wider cultural contexts of each location, including discussion of external influences, such as cinema advertising, that have shaped the work.
Left to right, from top: religious iconography in Kathmandu, Nepal; an F-16 fighter jet in Attock, Pakistan; an elephant in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka; and the Joker in Battaramula, Sri Lanka. Photos: Christopher Herwig.
There is also a brief nod to the craftspeople responsible for doing the decorating. This includes the astonishing fact that this work often constitutes around 30% of the total value of the vehicle, testimony to the important role they play in their drivers' lives.
The second text is an 'Afterword' by Christopher Herwig, in which he describes his experience of photographing the raw material for the book. It tells the stories of frenzied chases to catch particularly fine specimens, the friendships made with taxi drivers and truckers along the way, and the dreams of better lives that these people shared with him.
Herwig's earlier work on Soviet bus stops introduced him to the Belarusian bus stop designer Armen Saratov, who described his own work as “the poetry of the road”. Citing this, Herwig says that:
“The poetry of the road I found in the trucks and tuks was a complex, individual blend of masculinity and tradition intertwined with expressions of love, tenderness, hope and longing.”
The book is Herwig's love letter to this diverse and widespread artform, beautifully presented, and full of images that each tell their own story.
Trucks and Tuks (ISBN 978-1-7398878-8-9) is published by Fuel and available to buy from their website. Its 208 pages are hardbound, with the book measuring 20 × 16 cm (8 × 6 in) and shipping with three bonus postcards.
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