Amean J’s photography exhibition at Showcase depicts the polarised relationship between light and shade. PHOTO: PUBLICITY
Sattar Buksh is gaining ground in the desi-meets-gora food scene. The cafe’s name may be an intended pun on the international coffeehouse chain Starbucks, but Sattar Buksh’s Facebook page says of its quirkiness: “We [at Sattar Buksh] do what we want and we do it our way.”
With eccentric food names, a blend of Eastern and Western specialty foods and the quintessential desi ‘mooch’ logo, Sattar Buksh has been anything but orthodox so far. A recent addition to its uniqueness is Showcase, located on the first level of Sattar Buksh.
So, what is Showcase? Is it an art gallery? Sattar Buksh co-founder Adnan Yousuf says, “No, it is not. It is a space. We don’t want to follow rules. Being unorthodox, we want to stir things up a bit here.” What he refers to as a ‘space’, will house a multitude of art forms, performances, installations and photography exhibitions. Yousuf shares that Showcase is not a classic art gallery because there are enough of those in the city.
Co-founder Rizwan Ahmad Malik elaborates. He describes Showcase as a space where anything and everything can be showcased — even a bazaar. “It’s not just a gallery, it’s a community space,” he stated. Malik is currently responsible for managing Showcase. Commenting on why Showcase wasn’t opened when Sattar Buksh was, Malik said, “We wanted to start a food venture first. We had empty space and we kept thinking how to utilise it. With the cafe doing exceptionally well, we thought of making this space engaging and interactive.”
Showcase was inaugurated by photographer Amean J on Wednesday evening. He exhibited a set of 16 digital images inspired by his trip to Beijing, China, in March 2012 with his students from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. Calling his trip fabulous Amean said, “Beijing is rich in culture and so inspiring. There is this unexplainable energy on the streets. I would love to go there again.” He said that he has never exhibited these photographs online but thought they needed to be printed and put up on walls.
Titled ‘Walking the fine line between Light and Shade’, the exhibit offers a peep into a particular day from Amean’s trip, when he took a stroll in Beijing all by himself. “I was walking around The Forbidden City in broad daylight, and all I was doing was following the shadows.” Amean feels that the relationship between ‘light’ and ‘shade’ is one that photographers have been exploring for a long time. “Light and shade are an oxymoron. What is light and what is dark? This [his photographs] is my version of the contradiction between light and shade,” he said.
The images capture the shadows of road signs, lampposts, grilles, lawns, bicycles and even himself (in a self-portrait). The black and white images are “very graphic and very old school”, as Amean describes them. His personal favourite is one with a large bicycle.
Amean’s photographs will be on exhibition for the next two weeks at Showcase. After a great premiere event, one is curious to know what will follow next. Without giving away any details, Yousuf reveals that “a performance is next”.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2013.
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