M.N.M Frizvi: A living national treasure

Thursday, 27 November 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The creative genius and artistic brilliance apparent through the talent of a great artist sometimes make you gasp or at least hold your breath and something about the irresistible flair of M.N.M Frizvi whose coin image design - set to adorn the newest Rs. 10 coin that will soon be circulated all over the country – will perhaps reach far off lands around the globe, dazzled me and stopped me dead in my tracks.

After seeing his sample set of Rs. 10 coins, I knew my life had been changed forever. Why? Because his extraordinary talent left me spellbound and altered my view of the world. I was practically in a daze.

A ‘great innovator’, artist, designer, creative mastermind and advertising personality, his work found an outlet when the Treasury selected his mint theme image from amongst 413 designers submitting 1150 designs at the ‘Design & Shine’ local talent contest organised by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The new Rs. 10 coin will let you catch a glimpse of Sri Lanka’s 25 districts and discover its true potential and the lives its people lead, presenting a snapshot of Sri Lanka. President Mahinda Rajapakse presented him with a certificate on 17 November 2014 with Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal in attendance. “I used to draw birds, buses and airplanes on the walls of our home with fluid contour lines to give figures shape using charcoal that were shockingly realistic and these drawings were treasured by my father who never allowed anybody to erase them,” Frizvi said. “I was only a three-year-old at the time. I remember winning prizes at every all-island art competition while studying at St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa. Upon completing my school education I moved into the realm of commercial art at an advertising agency with groundbreaking paintings for CTC Eagle Insurance’s ‘Safety Month’ all-island poster competition and winning the second prize effortlessly while receiving a certificate from People’s Bank for my winning entry at the all-island poster competition for World Thrift Day. “My freelance creative work embraces commercial art techniques demonstrating the power and influence of visual communications and I’ve achieved critical professional success, influencing many marketing communication aspects through revolutionising the designing of creative typography for some of Sri Lanka’s leading business houses - Cool Planet, Maxmara and Aqua Fresh to name a few. “I have years of experience and received specialised training in my chosen sphere of expertise at the Ingrin Institute of Print Technologies where I gained in-depth training in digital art techniques such as the use of Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, Illustrator, Wacom tablets and similar technologies,” he stated. Frizvi adds that he is able to convey complex concepts with symbolism through the masterful application of ingenuity in interpreting subject matter. I feel that M.N.M. Frizvi is a kind of living national treasure, a person whose work should be preserved for several years to come.