Treating the world as your canvas

Sayeef Mahmud, widely known as Inksmith on social media, has been drawing since as long as he can remember. He would draw his favourite movie scenes with stick characters when he was only two and a half years old. For him, the world is nothing but a canvas to his imagination.  “The most fascinating part about making art is that it allows me to continue being a child while still having the mentality of an adult,” says the 22-year old artist. He describes himself as a traditional illustrator – one who is inspired by cyberpunk, a genre of science-fiction that features advanced science and technology in an urban and dystopian future. He predominantly uses ink and more recently, water colour in his art. 

Photo: Salim Sadman Samoy

Last year, Sayeef's dedication as an artist led him to Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, as an exchange student for a semester. According to Sayeef, the experience helped him identify his strengths and hone his craft.

Sayeef has recently held one storytelling workshop for children and one mural art workshop for university students. In addition, he has been a part of The Milkshake Collective, an initiative featuring a medley of various contemporary artists, and the Invisibellas, a street art project that aimed to shed light on gender-based inequality.

Sayeef feels that many parents still don't want their children to pursue art, and instead, choose more common areas like medicine or engineering. So, even talented artists do not get to explore their full potential because of social pressures. He says, “An artist should try to keep improving and stay determined and passionate despite the challenges.”

He believes that people should always draw what they relate to as a person. “Right now, I am trying to incorporate more of Dhaka's culture in my work. I am drawing our unique streets and cityscapes with an imaginative twist to things,” says Sayeef.

Find Sayeef's art on his facebook page, titled Inksmith.