Photography has long functioned as both visual expression and confrontation. In moments of war and political upheaval, the photographer’s presence shaped documentary practice — from Josef Koudelka’s visceral images of the Prague invasion to Cartier-Bresson’s post-war work. In today’s political and social climate, resistance feels more urgent than ever, rendering photography an act of bearing witness.

But what happens when the artist becomes the lone witness to the crashing tides within? In such moments, photography becomes a way to hold on to parts of the self that slip away — memory, identity, desire, grief. By turning the lens inward, the artist resists the quiet erasures taking place within.

In this vein, the group exhibition ‘Intimate Resistance’ at Karachi’s Vasl Gallery brings together four photographers, each anchoring themselves to these inner tides.

Arif Mahmood is a veteran Pakistani photographer with a focus on portraiture and photojournalism. His style of photography is very distinct, due its theatrical play of light and shadows with deep tones and strong monochrome images. Mahmood responds to the idea of intimate resistance by re-encountering a series of silver gelatin prints salvaged from a fire that........

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