Immigrant stories: Scotland-Pakistan links explored

Exhibition featuring two documentaries, paintings and photos opens at Zahoorul Ikhlaq Art Gallery.

LAHORE:

An exhibition exploring the lives of immigrants between Pakistan and Scotland over the last 100 years   Migrant-egrations; Migrations and Integration Stories from Pakistan and Scotland – opened at the National College of Arts on Monday.

Zahoorul Ikhlaq Art Gallery curator Qudsia Rahim said although the stories were those of people from Pakistan and Scotland, anyone who had spent time in other parts of the world could relate to their lives.

The display consisted of two documentaries, a visual presentation on former Kinnaird College principal Isabella T McNair, 14 paintings featuring Pakistani women from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s and 14 photographs of Scottish families of Pakistani origin.

Fragments of a Love Story, a documentary by Sana Bilgrami, is about the life of her grandfather, who studied medicine in Edinburgh over a hundred years before Bilgrami shifted to the city. The documentary pieces together fragments of history and fiction to tell a story.

Bilgrami said she became curious about her grandfather’s life upon moving to Edinburgh in 2000. She got hold of his college records and used them to piece his life in Scotland together.

She said it was difficult to say whether she felt more at home in Pakistan or Scotland.



Though now settled in Edinburgh, she still felt a sense of loss, she said.

Photographer Verena Jaekel, showcasing portraits of 14 prominent Scottish families of Pakistani origin, said she allowed her subjects to choose their clothing and who else to include in the picture.

Jaekel, who divides her time as a photographer between Cologne and Berlin, said most of her photographs feature multiple generations of immigrant Pakistanis.

Also screened was The Petman Girls, a documentary profiling the life of Scottish painter Hal Bevan Petman, who moved to India in the 1920s and was known for painting women until his death in 1980.

Director Taqi Shaheen and researcher Romano Yousaf Karim said Petman chose to settle in Pakistan after Partition. “It was an interesting time for Pakistan as new art mediums were being introduced and there was Petman, painting Pakistani women of the time,” said Shaheen, who interviewed several women who had appeared in Petman’s work.

Fourteen of Petman’s portraits were acquired from private collectors for the display at the Zahoorul Ikhlaq Art Gallery at the NCA. The documentary was funded by the British Council.

A selection of photographs narrated the story of Isabella T McNair, principal of Kinnaird College between 1929 and 1950, during her time in Lahore. A slideshow of the pictures acquired from the National Galleries of Scotland Collections also played at the gallery space.

The works will remain on display till March 31.

A series of talks are also planned with the artists on March 26 and 27 at the gallery. Jaekel will talk about her works between 11am and 12.30pm on today (Tuesday); Bilgrami will hold a talk between 11am and 1pm on Wednesday; and Shaheen and Karim will talk between 2.30 and 4pm at the gallery also on Wednesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2013.