Pakistan through a lens

Published June 18, 2010

The work is powerful and highlights an ethnically mixed, religiously tolerant and diverse Pakistan. Photo by Mehmood Qureshi
A recurring theme when you speak to many Pakistanis, both in Pakistan and among the diaspora, is a prolonged list of complaints about how Pakistan and Pakistanis are represented in the media.

 

The diversity, cultural heritage and complexity of Pakistan - a vast, beautiful, complex country that encompasses the great metropolises of Karachi, Faisalabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi, to the mountain regions of Khyber-Pakthunkhwa and Balochistan, and the hundreds of villages, towns and fertile plains of the Punjab.

 

Sadly, while the current trials and tribulations Pakistan faces are well-observed and widely reported, rarely is any depth or context given to Pakistan's many cultures, communities and its pluralistic history. Such observations suits those pernicious forces that wish to enforce a right wing, sectarian orthodoxy upon Pakistan as well as those with either an anti-Pakistan agenda or another negative narrative they wish to convey or develop.

 

'Pakistan Through a Lens' currently at the Redbridge Museum showcases a Pakistan rarely highlighted by the mainstream media. But it is a Pakistan that is thankfully being highlighted by an increasing interest in the photography coming out of Pakistan and its neighbours, as seen in the recent 'Three Dreams' exhibit in Whitechapel.

 

Kudos  to Sadia Malik, a young student and a human dynamo who has single-handedly put this exhibition together, from liaising with the photographers and curating the show, to booking the venue and the many other tasks involved.

 

The exhibition has been divided into separate themes exploring people, places, urban life, women, festivals, costume and ideas of nationhood, showcasing the work by twenty-five contemporary Pakistani photographers. The work is powerful and highlights an ethnically mixed, religiously tolerant and diverse Pakistan .

 

The images of fashion shows, street life, the exuberance of the young and the beautiful at a cricket match, the dignity of the old to the beauty of the city and the rich heritage of Pakistan, is all shown in a range of work that is both powerful and subtle. Some of the images such as the female security guard and the professional swimmer clearly are there to represent women, especially those from the cities who do not always fit with many perceptions of Pakistani society usually shown in the west.

 

The photograph of the ancient fort of Makli with a young girl in font of it, beautifully captures Pakistan's past, present and future. Photography has always occupied a role in art but it also plays an important role in reportage. The best compliment that can be paid to this exhibition is that not only does it do justice to the people and cultures of Pakistan it also acts as witness to what Pakistan really is

 

The exhibition will continue at Redbridge Museum until June 19 and is expected to tour different cities in the UK and eventually, be shown in Pakistan .

 

Anwar Akhtar is the director of www.thesamosa.co.uk , a British culture and news project.

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