A medical doctor by profession, Pakistani photographer Maryam Arif’s belief-systems are as intrinsic to her photographic projects as her approach to medicine.
A self-described ‘thinker’, the Lahore-based photographer describes her approach to photography as ‘observational and non-intrusive’.
Self-taught, Arif originally took photos solely for her personal viewing pleasure. It wasn’t until while studying endocrinology that her passion drove her to make the tough decision to put medicine aside and pursue photography professionally.
Arif believes her black & white photography has definitely given her the opportunity to put forth her beliefs and ideas in an abstract form. The inspiration for her work is ‘light’ – the way it can change the feel and perspective of something simple and mundane into something extraordinary and magical.
Purposely taking an abstract or conceptual style approach to photography, Arif’s goal is to allow her images to be open to interpretation and to lead the viewer by subtle clues into the mind behind the photo.
Kana Kukui 