sohailabdullah@hotmail.com

One tries to take from one’s surroundings to build inspiration for one’s art, though it can also be quite a task to look at one’s home surroundings with the same sense of wonder as one would look at a place one is new to. It is difficult to find good reason to record something one passes by everyday.

I took black and white photos of old buildings in Karachi that were enlarged in a darkroom and later toned. This produced pictures with a vintage feel but including obvious elements that contradict this appearance. Sparse hand colouring has been used to separate the planes of the picture and to activate the juxtaposition.

Much of my work from the past has been technique and material driven; the choices of form and image follows that of the medium. The idea of site specific work that only produces an ephemeral result was a fresh undertaking. The ‘agli-gali’ came about as a response to the narrow dark alleyway that connects a multiple housing parking lot to a general store and an alcohol shop.