Tapu Javeri recently launched the coffee table book Tapulicious 2 after the success of the original first edition

Published by Kiran Aman and Markings, this volume “chronicles Javeri’s days at Xtra magazine from the early ’90s to the present” and “covers people from all walks of life: from model Aminah Haq, writers Hanif Qureshi and Arundhati Roy, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Fawad Khan, Babra Sharif to legendary singers Boney M and Alamgir.”

The launch at the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture in Karachi included speeches by Kiran Aman and of course Javeri himself. The photographer is the author of three previous solo photography books: I, Voyeur, Shades of Green and Tapulicious.

He has enough archival work to fill at least 10 books, so this sequel comes as no surprise. “I’ve planned every few years to create a book from my archives and add some new stuff so it doesn’t look too dated,” said Javeri. “My photography students at the IVS say they look up to myself and Arif Mahmood but they find it very hard to find images. This is a textbook of sorts for them.”

What sets his work apart is his use of colour and seemingly effortless dramatic effort. In the words of Fifi Haroon, “Javeri moonlights as a jewellery designer, which is his family business. The influence seeps into his photography which is often marked by eye-popping colour. It is also evident in his t-shirt range. Tapu’s tees and his kaleidoscopic photo-video of Karachi merge thousands of images.”

There was great buzz and appreciation for the cover photograph from 2002 which featured a blonde Aminah Haq with hair and make-up by Mubashir Khan. “I’m in love with the cover,” said Frieha Altaf. “Also, lots of nostalgia inside.”

“Aminah’s lips looked like chocolate,” stated Javeri, explaining how the image was a natural choice.

Another photograph that got a lot of buzz was that of Javeri himself, taken by Pakistani British photographer Zoobs (Zubair Ansari), underscoring that Javeri has great potential in front of the camera.

“Tapu is the most fabulous person to work with,” said Kiran Aman draped in a Shahla Chatoor sari. “The way he speaks, engages with our entire team, he’s open to ideas and puts his own across no nicely. We were involved with selecting images for the book, to placement and design. Tapu and Markings have great chemistry. I hope the latter continues to document the work of our Pakistani talent as publishers or corporate initiatives. It is something to leave behind for the generations to come.”

“The target audience for this book is anybody and everybody,” stated Javeri, “We have a ‘billion’ people who want to be photographers so hopefully they will buy it. Books don’t really sell as much in this country as they should so I’m very lucky to have a sponsor.”

“I’m terribly proud of this book and the launch was a fun way to share the moment with my friends, many of whom I have been working with for the past 20 years,” added Javeri. “I plan to stock the book in bookstores as well as my various designer friends’ fashion stores as ultimately this is a fashion book and it features many of them.”

The soiree-style event attracted a who’s who guest list including Maheen Khan, Feeha Jamshed, Amean J., Adnan Pardesy, Rukaiya Adamjee, Salim and Shehla Chatoor, Wardha Saleem, Nazneen Tariq Khan, Cheena Chhapra, Hasan and Ayesha Javeri, Darius and Spenta Kandawalla and many others.

Tapulicious 2 is edited by Andleeb Rana Farhan with text by Aamna Haider Isani, and coordinated by Fareshteh Aslam and Farheen Salman.