ISLAMABAD: The alleyways of Lahore’s walled city with their crafts bazaars and centuries old houses with intricately carved overhanging windows and balconies have long fascinated artists. But what often draws visual artists and photographs to this ancient city are the colourful characters who inhabit its streets.

And it was these characters who came alive Monday night in the works of the artists who participated in the poster exhibition ‘Connecting the Dots’ at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts.

The exhibition is the outcome of a workshop organised in March 2017 by the German Cultural Centre and the Walled City of Lahore authority, which was attended by 12 young visual artists.

The workshop was led by National Geographic Photographer Matthieu Paley and his wife Mareile Paley, a communication consultant for the UN. The Paleys have spent a number of years working in Pakistan and have extensively documented stories from Northern Pakistan.

Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, German Ambassador Ina Lepel said she was impressed by the diversity in the work of the artists.

“Some artists chose to focus on the outer shapes of the heritage sites, some showcased dying arts and crafts, while others put into perspective the social transformations taking place in the country,” she said.

Artist Waqas Liaqat whose posters featured his own poetry as well as the work of Punjabi Sufi Poet Baba Bulleh Shah in calligraphic font superimposed on portraits of malangs or holy men told Dawn he is interested in philosophy and his work is reflective of this.

“In this work I have shown some people who may appear to be homeless beggars or wanderers are in fact Sufis looking for God. I have used poetry to show that such people occupy a space in a city but in reality inhabit a world of their own,” he said.

Artist Ali Hussain who is a filmmaker told Dawn he had been following the work of Mathhieu Paley for a number of years and was thrilled at the opportunity to learn from him.

His work explores how young Pakistanis exist within history, religion and culture and illustrates this through a fashion shoot in the walled city featuring a young burka clad woman smoking, applying makeup and playing the guitar. “The featured model wears a burka while ignoring rules and wandering the walled city. I hope to show the diversity of our culture while also pointing out that the hijab is an alien import,” he said.

Artist Karim Baig who is a final year filmmaking student told Dawn his work focuses on the sport of wrestling, locally known as Kushti, as it is a dying tradition. His poster referred to the sport as ‘Pakistan’s First Gym’ and through photographs told the story of Adil, a young wrestler struggling to play the sport while also supporting his younger brother and his father who is a drug addict.

“Through my work I hope to draw attention to this local sport which does not receive funds or patronage but most importantly tell the story of the young wrestlers struggling to continue playing this sport while living in abject poverty,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2017