A hand-painted animation by artist Eeman Masood is being screened every night this February on the iconic billboards of Times Square in New York City, putting a Pakistan-trained miniature painter’s work in one of the world’s most visible public art spaces.
The piece, titled “Listen”, is part of Times Square Arts’ monthly “Midnight Moment” programme. Speaking on Geo News programme “Geo Pakistan”, Masood said the work is displayed nightly from 11:57pm to 12:00am across 96 screens, with February designated as her showcase month.
Masood said her practice is rooted in miniature and watercolour painting, which she studied at the National College of Arts (NCA). During her master’s degree at the University of Victoria in Canada, she said she was able to bring that hand-painted practice into animation with greater access to facilities and support.
Describing the selection process, she said artists can submit proposals, but the final choice is made after multiple rounds of review by panellists. Masood said her work was selected last year, followed by a lengthy process before it reached display.
‘Listen’ reflects what she described as the quiet generosity and endurance of the natural world. The animation features shimmering particles encircling an ancient banyan tree, blurring the line between the earthly and the celestial.
Masood said every element in the piece, including the peacocks and the banyan tree at its centre, was painted by hand before being animated.
The music for the work was created by her friend Mujeeb, a senior from NCA, who played the flute and santur, with the soundtrack made specifically for the project.
Masood said she has long been drawn to nature not only for its surface beauty but for the “small signs of hope” it offers, cycles of ending and return.
She linked the banyan-tree motif to a visit to Lahore in 2023, saying she had long heard about a banyan referred to as a “tree of blessing” and was moved when she saw it for the first time. She said its condition appeared poor, with advertisements pasted on it, yet it continued to provide massive shade while people ran their shops beneath it.
