K'Architecture: an exhibition (and a book) April 2010

K'Architecture: an exhibition (and a book) April 2010

This is not a book review commenting on an inaugural exhibition. Rather it is an attempt to review an exhibition of photographs by seven eminent photographers that has also been published in the form of a book, and to judge whether the exhibition stood on its own, or 'depended' on the book to be understood and appreciated.

One of the main questions that came to mind on viewing the exhibit in the spacious Gallery inside the re-constructed Nusserwanjee Building on the Indus Valley School campus in Karachi was: What, if any, was the common objective of the seven photographers?. Had they set up a 'task' for themselves, a mandate, so to say? Had they selected a group of possible subjects, and then divided these amongst themselves on the basis of their individual interests, inclinations and talents? Did it matter if one went through the exhibits in sequence, from 1 through 62, or did it in reverse or, on a whim, walked around randomly to whatever caught one's attention?.

Nothing at the exhibition seemed to help answer these queries. The printed list of photographs, numbered and grouped by the name of the photographer, indicated the print medium, the print size and also the frame size besides, of course, the price. But it did not indicate a common objective.

This critic therefore chose to refer to the hard-bound volume, also named K' Architecture, compiled by Arshad Faruqui , architect, and Amean J., one of the seven photographers, and carrying photo essays by the same seven photographers. The book was indeed helpful in understanding the exhibition, to a point, but raised further questions.

In the preface, co-editor Faruqui clarified that "each photographer has his/ her own individual style and has photographed the city from his/ her own perspective. They have chosen a subject which is very...