Kashmirwala

Ibrahim Ahmed, aka ‘Kashmirwala’, comes from a background of photography and is now exploring and experimenting with various print techniques.

Inspired by the stories of his great grandfather Faisal Kashmirwala, a travel pioneer in the 1940s, Ibrahim seeks to connect people. Rather than creating work upon reflection of an experience, instead he orchestrates opportunities to have new adventures and throws himself into them, allowing for the art to evolve out of these experiences as a direct consequence.

Starting out in the commercial world as a music video director, creating aspirational images for independent artists; due to the low-budget nature of the jobs Ibrahim relied heavily on the skills of his DOP. And though he developed considerable skill in manipulating video in post-production, he never really felt the moment was his own while someone else was holding the lens. This desire to become more involved with his subjects drove him towards photography.

Yet there remained subjects that Ibrahim couldn’t quite capture in a way he desired. Hence printmaking provided a new way for Ibrahim to capture the essence of the subjects he seeks to visualise.

During his residency at DEVFTO Printmaking Institute, Ibrahim will be working with an array of techniques under the guidance of print master Devy, including woodcut printing, screenprinting and lithography.

His time at DEVFTO will be spent working on a selection of works named ‘Morsels’.

The series symbolises moments of reflecting on the meaning of certain values which have been inspired through the experience of private family moments. The works reflect the inner philosophy of treading lightly and only taking what one needs.

Coinciding with the artists retreat from innercity life to connect with his primordial essence through travel and reconnecting to the lands of his roots, the series aims to reflect societies challenge of navigating through modernism while being and staying in tune with ones natural state of being.

Surreal scenes extracted from moments of fleeting joy, engraved in time, each uniquely hand printed from a space of presence. A process that moves away from the more instant nature of digital disciplines, embracing and even relishing fully those small moments that give life flavour.