Written by AMMAR ZAIDI With the digital flex printing dominating the billboard industry, talented artists are reinventing themselves to keep their work afloat. Decades back things were different and artists had seen heydays when their traditional handiwork was much in demand, says Mustaq Akram Sheikh, 48. Busy working at a hookah parlour in Sakinaka, Sheikh said nearly 24 years ago, there were days when companies from the USA and Germany used to place order for posters painted by him. Now, such demands exist, but only in his memories. Before 1995, Sheikh considers the time as a golden period for flex. Claming to be a gifted calligraphy and fine arts artist, earlier he used to paint a variety of things, including signboards, number plates, promotional brochures, building names, store names, movie posters and circus posters. But like any other narrative of man-machine conflict, the artist was hit hard when flex was introduced and computers made his talent redundant. “My income shrunk to 50 per cent of what I was earning earlier. As the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them. So, I started learning the art of flex printing,” said Sheikh, who is a class VII dropout. His current job fetches him Rs 40,000 a month, said Sheikh, who lives in Marol with his wife and five children. He fondly remembered how he had picked up the nuances of the art from his father. “I could not have got a better teacher,” he said. Sheikh started painting at the age of 15 and in his long career, he had worked on paintings as huge as 100 to 150 feet. Today, his son is also an artist. “To keep pace with time, my son has quickly switched to the digital medium. He designs on his computer,” he said. For all the latest Mumbai News, download Indian Express App

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