Creative movement: Between silence and thought

Exhibition underway at Shakir Ali Museum

LAHORE: Creative Movement—an exhibition featuring photographic prints commenced on Thursday at Shakir Ali Museum to celebrate the artist’s vision.

Amna Yaseen, one of the forces behind Camera for People, which organised the event, said experiments had been carried out on a number of surfaces such as Canson sheets, Saunders Waterford paper, Ranker Swiss paper, Kodak Endura professional paper, pastel sheets, tracing paper and fabric with pigments.

Photographer Umair Ghani said the initiative had been taken by a group of likeminded photographers to revive darkroom photo making. He said the work being showcased was distinct from stereotypical lab prints since they had been made using surfaces that photographers generally eschewed. “We started experimenting with mediums and expressions to transfer attention from digital or soft copies of photographs condemned to gadgets and computers. “They have little intrinsic value or finality to them,” Ghani said.

The photographer said what might come across as red in colour to one might appear magenta to another on a different screen. Similarly, he said, picture sharpness, quality and contrast could also vary. Ghani said the individuality of a photograph was compromised in the process. “Consequently, photographers often have no idea if their pictures are exhibition-worthy or not,” he said.

Ghani said to experience pictures being developed was the most exciting part of the project. “After a very long time, we felt that the process of photo making was pivotal and ought to be vigilantly appraised as well,” he said. “Printmaking is not as simple as hitting the print button. It is an arduous process which requires attention and dedication,” Ghani said.

The photographer said often when photographers claimed a picture as their own it was untrue. He said in most cases it was just a regular print from a lab. Ghani said printmaking was a serious exercise. He said more and more photographers had started veering towards making prints themselves instead of relying on labs. Ghani said in Pakistan photography was pursued mostly for commercial purposes instead of being seen as an art that needed attention.

Artist Amna Pataudi said the exhibition had been organised in connection with the legendary artist’s centenary celebrations. She said he was a man of international stature. The exhibition features the work of photographers Abdul Waris, Ammara Nawaz, Amna Yaseen, Ghzanfar Bhinder, Muhammad Saeed Rao, Umair Ghani and Zaheer Chaudhry.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2016.