When hobbyists come together

The Alliance Francaise, Karachi was host to a fascinating, though simple, exhibition of photographs all by amateurs and hobbyists. 

Based on 165 exhibits adorning the walls of the Allliance exhibition hall, they have been submitted by 57 participating group, titled, “Aaj Ka Random”.

The exhibition is not a competition but is more about people in the group and their illustrations. It is more about the varied demographics of Pakistan, life, and nature. 

The entries are from Pakistan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the USA, and a couple of others. After joining ‘Aaj Ka Random’ (AKR), members who had no interest in photography except for selfies, turned the camera or the cell phone around. The exhibition is a record of their views of life, nature, and others.

The AKR is a group of friends, sharing photographs of a diverse group of people from all over the world who post photographs which are random, spontaneous, interesting, intriguing, and showing the most ordinary of matters in the most extraordinary of manner.

Sajid Dadabhoy who was the organiser and the chief guest, said, “None could imagine that one day we all would be exhibiting our works.”

“Even though we endeavour to make this open to as many people as possible, we still have a board who scrutinise the works before they are submitted. This is not to discourage anyone but a certain standard has to be maintained,” Dadabhoy said.

Talking about the emergence of AKR, he said that he, just being a hobbyist photographer, would take photographs at random, sometimes while on foot, sometimes from a bicycle, sometimes from a car. 

Being too lazy to formulate a caption, he just started calling his collection “Aaj Ka Random”. This he said interested his friends and they decided to name the group “Aaj Ka Random”.

All 165 exhibits are rally eye-catching but some stand out even among these. There’s a photograph of a cuddly squirrel going up the trunk of the tree, ostensibly a simple theme. What makes it really profound is the way the photographer, Samira Malik, has captured the expression of expectancy in the animal’s eyes. It makes a masterpiece of the rendition of nature.

There’s another one by Karel Schaenessens of Belgium showing a lush green park with a beautifully placid lake. It is a profound projection of nature.

There’s a picture of the mighty Karrakorams, all snow-clad with a helicopter hovering well below the snow-covered peaks. There was one of a flock of birds flying against the backdrop of the sunset with the sky turning crimson from sunset and a think black cloud giving an eerie, yet beautiful blend of colours, by Lilly Aslam.

Then there is the photograph of a majestic, splendorous red sandstone church somewhere in KP. Perhaps, most winsome is the profile of a Punjabi Belle from Harappa by Amir Islam. 

The typical rustic look on the girl’s otherwise pleasant face, the expression of disappointment in her eyes – disappointment that stems from the vagaries of fate – make for a highly profound work. The exhibition runs up until September 29.