Amna Zuberi, a graduate of the prolific liberal arts institution, National College of Arts in Lahore, is a Pakistani woman pursuing a career in communication & design strategy with a passion for photography.
She has launched her pictorial book, Finding Lahore - published by the award-winning publishing house, Markings, in association with Topical Printers.
The book celebrates Lahore and the author’s love affair with the city’s vibrant culture including its sights, sounds, the moods and senses.
Previously, she has also been published by Markings in their coffee table titles such as Pakistan Heritage Cuisine - A Food Story, Drops of the Divine - A Story of Milk in Pakistan, A Reel On Karachi among others.
Amna Zuberi recently sat down for a talk with Instep. Excerpts from the conversation…
Instep: Finding Lahore pays homage to the culturally rich and historically laden city of Lahore. We understand that the book coalesces the sights, sounds, moods and senses of the city. What inspired you to pursue this book?
Amna Zuberi (AZ): My first interaction with what I call the heart of Lahore was during my time at the National College of Arts (NCA). I believe I used to, and many dwelling in Lahore even today approach the city like tourists.
It is only years later when I decided to go back to my storytelling roots and chose to pick up my camera, that I began rediscovering and interacting with the space anew - picking up the true soul of the city.
One can say that the multi-layered character of Lahore, the range of emotions it exudes and its sense triggering semiotics all became my inspiration, leading to the quest for the journey of Finding Lahore. This city by the river has witnessed and lived through a number of ages. If you go through its history you’d see evidence of settlements before the Mughals came. Each age not only leaves its marks but the years to come somehow carry those threads forward and can be felt and seen around. One just has to look, and look again…
Instep: You are a photographer and a published writer with books such as Pakistan Heritage Cuisine - A Food Story, Drops of the Divine - A Story of Milk in Pakistan and A Reel On Karachi under your belt. How has that journey led you to Finding Lahore?
AZ: A book is much bigger than a collection of images. It has a story that binds it; a soul that weaves through its pages, wanting to go from one page to the next - something that I learned from Markings Publishing while working on the books that came before Finding Lahore. A lot of careful thought has to go into the relationship one wants to create between the book and its audience. What you want to communicate and the feeling you want to leave when you close that end hard cover.
Finding Lahore has almost been a sacred journey of mine, a visual exploration taking place over years. In that due course, a certain theme and mood began to emerge organically as to how I saw this city, and what I wanted to explore through my images.
When we decided to put together a book, it actually came together well because somewhere over time composing Finding Lahore, I had already started to tell a story by capturing the nuances of the old city of elements that over time have simply become part of our landscape - often looked over in our daily frenzies of routine - whereas it is these very factors that actually weave together the fabric of our enriched culture, our daily practices, our history. What I call the ‘Extraordinary in the ordinary’.
Instep: Art is an expression and application of human creative skill and imagination. How have you been able to express your creativity in this book?
AZ: The book carries a certain sensitivity, empathy and a keen observation of how I’ve seen Lahore. The idea was to evoke emotions and trigger moods versus just documenting the physicality of public spaces. Many sights are neither glamourous, nor too pretty as one would say, but speak volumes through their emerging stories. That is what I see as my achievement or creativity - in being able to bring forth a certain intimacy of a space.
Instep: The book reveals your own cultural affiliations. What does the cultural capital of Pakistan mean to you?
AZ: Oh! Lahore is a love affair that just keeps growing. I could go back to the same narrow lane multiple times and learn something new. And I think this relationship and appreciation started when I stripped myself of every preconceived notion and really began immersing myself in the city.
Lahore has so much to offer. It’s a city of literature, of gastronomical experiences embedded with a vibrant and rich history which is so visible - a city of million stories and rituals. I could keep discovering it for years to come and still be left awed.
Instep: How do you think photography landscape in Pakistan has evolved over the years? What does the future hold for photography in Pakistan?
AZ: This new age of smart phones and social media has really enabled the enthusiasts who were earlier hesitant thinking they needed to invest in a certain amount of gear to be able to explore their creative acumen through photography. Today even a 17-year-old is very interested in creating his own visual expression through a smartphone. Being able to share, exchange points of views has brought in a lot of exposure, encouragement and opportunities.
A lot of good work is coming out of the different genres of photography being practiced here today; from brilliant storytelling by Arif Mahmood to some ace work by Alee Hassan & Rizwan Ul Haq in the fashion arena. If it weren’t for the Pakistani travel photographers showcasing their work on social media, how would the famous travel bloggers have been enticed to come and explore Pakistan?
That said, I still believe that that shift of photography being considered an art form and just not a medium of documentation is still in process.
Instep: Pakistan is in dire need of promoting peace and cultural acceptability on a global scale, how do you see projects like Finding Lahore fitting in this landscape?
AZ: The best feedback I’ve gotten till now has been that the book is very human and intimate… it takes you a step further into the door. I think that it is imperative that we open the doors of our homeland from a personal vantage point, valuing and showing the little treasure(s) we have to offer.
Instep: What is the academic future of books like Finding Lahore in Pakistan. Are we on the verge of studying this as a standalone discipline with practical applications that change the socio-economic perspective?
AZ: Finding Lahore is first an earnest journey of my “self” as the self seeks to dig deeper into its skin to understand its blood and veins better. Academically, I think that the book inadvertently attempts to archive the seemingly trivial aspects of the city that might help evoke a sense of belonging for the local residents, a sense of lived and loved for those who have grown up in what I have tried to document, at the same time intriguing the interest of a person looking from the outside, in, to understand the raw, nervous energy of the beguiling city that is Lahore.
Instep: Tell us about AdAsia Lahore 2019 and the launch of the book. With distinguished personalities such as Randi Zuckerberg, Seema Jaffer, and the likes in audience, what feedback have you received?
AZ: The Ad Asia experience was remarkable; to be able to hear some of the most successful and prominent marketers and media experts come together to discuss the pulse of the industry and to see creative geniuses like Ali Rez put Pakistan on the map of global advertising was heart-warming. There was a frenzy in the atmosphere and the overall impression everyone has taken back about Pakistan is very positive.
For me, to have the privilege of launching the book at AdAsia held a very special place. Not only because it is a very prestigious platform and I was presented with the opportunity to showcase my work in the company of such inspiring personalities, but also because I was back in the fraternity and amongst mentors with whom I had begun my career years back.
The feedback has been very heart-warming and encouraging. There has been appreciation of what I brought forth as Lahore in its true element and I am very thankful for it.
Finding Lahore is available at Liberty Books and Book Mart across
Pakistan; online at kitabain.com and internationally at Amazon.com for PKR 5,000.