Decked up in black and white themed furniture, with a giant poster of model Iraj Manzoor facing the audience, the Courtyard at The Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture (IVSAA) emanated a somber, classy appeal at the launch of photographer Arif Mahmood’s fashion monograph, titled Flamenco on the Roof, on Monday evening.
The Spanish instrumental music playing in the background complemented the theme of the event.
Comprising a capsule collection of 30 images featuring Iraj as a Flamenco dancer, the book is certainly a visual treat for fashion and art enthusiasts alike. The book is a monochromatic compilation of images that explore the various different postures and moods of a performer, with a detailed emphasis on the outfits. The three outfits used for the photo shoot have been designed by Rizwan Beyg and the shoot took place at Mahmood’s own house in Lalazar.
Although, the images date all the way back to 2006, it is only now that Mahmood decided to compile them in a book format. “These images are very personal to me and I wanted people to see them through a series of book launches. This is also a pre-cursor to my book Magnum Opus on Fashion, which highlights my work from 1989 to 2013,” says Mahmood. Both Iraj and Beyg had copies of the images, but they were never disclosed to anybody else before the launch.
Mahmood highlights that Flamenco on the Roof is part of a four-series book collection, and is in fact the second in his franchise, Philosophy being the first one. Next in line are Silent Rage and Crossroad, respectively.
Designed by Absar Ahmed, a graphic design graduate from the renowned fashion school Central St Martins in the UK, the book sets a benchmark for a concept that will hopefully become a trend amongst photographers. Mahmood says that while fashion shoots are part of monthly magazines, they are hardly catalogued in the form of a book. “It is very important to document fashion in books because images like these represent a certain era in time. Fashion has become commercial, and people don’t prioritise bringing forward a fashion book, which they should,” he asserts.
Unlike his contemporaries, Mahmood’s work is mostly in black and white, and this particular book is no different. Developed by hand, the images for the book were created in a dark room, according to Mahmood.
Mahmood has been working in the industry for quite some time and his work has always drawn appreciation from his associates in the field. “I love Arif’s work; it’s been an inspiration for me for a long time and it’s always a pleasure to see his work,” says Amean J, who feels that Mahmood has been both a friend and a mentor to him.
Also present at the event was fashion journalist Mohsin Sayeed, and he too was all praises. “He is probably the only one in this industry still doing photographs in black and white. I love Mahmood’s work; he has this signature style, one glimpse and you know it is his,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2014.
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