LAHORE – “When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls,” said Ted Grant. The exhibition in focus this time is that of photography, an art form that even in our locality is fast becoming a passion of both integrity and enjoyment.
Lahore Tilak, a digital photography exhibition by Rai Qasim Naeem, opened at Alhamra Art Gallery on the January 18. Curated by Tanya Suhail, the show brought together people both from the fields related to the work along with the general public which took a keen interest in the works.
If one doubted Ted Grant’s words even a bit, the doubt went out the window, thanks to the black and white prints of Qasim Naeem. Not only is his work captivating and full of locale flavour, its bursting with story telling sprite. Each and every photograph is a spectacular narrative in its own sense, whether it is the pedal pushing boy on the bicycle or the little kid whirling in mid air the images are profound in terms of their subject matter and composition.
The use of light and dark, shadows and highlights especially in the black and white one’s is of considerable confidence and vigour, thus displaying a certain sense of aesthetic intellect on the basis of the artist. The coloured photographs were quite stunning to the use of perspective. One thing consecutive in all of the Images is the sheer use of visual vocabulary at such a level that one feels connected to the photograph be it because of the subject matter or the composition.
Curation too played an important role in the enhancement of the photographic master pieces of Qasim’s, as the black and white ones were laced on one floor while the coloured remained above the stairs. Although like every photographer, Qasim also wants the world to be viewed from his own perspective, with liquid semblance in ordinary moments and vibrancy of thought in things which might have been very everyday-like. Except the use of some cliched snaps, the overall appeal of the exhibition seemed to be coherent and guile.
The coloured photographs on the other side had a whole different story to tell, from the hues at the railway station to the different architectural rendezvous through out Lahore, both old and new, Qasim carries a bundle of intellectual creativity. Although the photo-manipulation went a little over board within the spheres of the coloured photography it still remained pretty digestible.
One display containing three pictures mounted together remained of particular eye catching as they were not only very appealing in terms of the colour and composition, but seemed like a sequential story or in other words a visual narrative that is very hard to see these days. Qasim with this exhibition proves himself to be a person who can spin the most ordinary, benign and simple things into objects of intrigue, indulgence and aesthetic significance.
In terms of the visual vocabulary the exhibition proved to be an magnum-opus for any die heart Lahori, from photographs ranging from peddlers to mosque tombs, city scape and pleas of the under privileged, the wise crumbling old age and the outburst of youth, to the Lahore which used to be its transformation into a throbbing independent and modern city. Not only are his photographs completely overwhelming they also are enjoyable by the individual who prefers raw eye candy over mesmerizing underlines and metaphors.
In the end the city with all its vigor, strength, tints and exuberance is captured in what might be called ‘Qasim’s atmospheric exhibition’. The effort seemed justified and it would be pleasant to see Qasim turn his attention and in this regards camera towards more and more worthy subjects a click away!
Lahore Tilak – How the city tastes…
