Malcolm Hutcheson is one of those photographers whose empathy with ‘ordinary’ people is indeed extraordinary. A Scottish man who has chosen to live in Pakistan for almost 10 years now, and who visits the poorest localities to photograph—“what we do not want to see”—Hutcheson is indeed somewhat of a missionary, who is using his artistic talent for something beyond aesthetic pleasure. He believes that “there is a purpose to showing images; that they can prompt a better understanding of the world”, and it is this philosophy which prompts him to focus his attention on the poor and the marginalised, and to show the environment they live in.

Hutcheson, who is a recipient the Prix Pictel, the world’s premier photographic award in sustainability 2008, is part of the faculty of BNU, Lahore, and has had a number of exhibitions of his photography. His current exhibition at the NCA Gallery, Lahore captures an issue that is of vital importance, but which is neglected with impunity. The pollution of our water, the appalling state of our sewerage system and the impact of this on the common man is something few of us think about. Yet Hutcheson is more than aware and concerned about this, and his exhibition titled ‘Gunda nala’ shows in a sensitive way, how our people exist in this squalor and filth. It reaffirms his commitment to focusing on basic issues rather than a sensational events, for it is his belief that these basic problems are the root cause of our greater predicaments.

If any one were to visit the river Ravi in Lahore, it would shock them into disbelief. It is more of a dumping ground for garbage and most of the city’s waste accumulates here. Yet life goes on, and ‘the authorities’ turn a blind eye. Clean water, a basic necessity, is now more of luxury: the rich rely on the thriving bottled water industry, while the poor continue to be exposed to the hazards of polluted, toxic water. It is this cruel truth which Hutcheson has chosen to reveal to viewers and he does this in a style which is by no means typical. Choosing sewage workers as his subjects, he creates poignant images that are both factual and yet timeless in their artistic appeal.

Interestingly, Hutcheson uses the most basic of equipment for his black and white photography, but this again is in league with his unconventional and original approach to life. He is currently perhaps the only practitioner of what is locally called ‘Ruh Khitch’ photography, and employs a traditional handmade wooden camera in which negatives are developed at the time of exposure. This old-fashioned photography suits Hutcheson’s earthy, unpretentious approach, because the negatives bear the marks of the processing conditions, which in this case are rough and irregular.

In Hutcheson’s ‘Gunda nala’ series, the focus is more on young people whose predicament of living in the midst of filth is especially something to be concerned about. The viewers are thus introduced to individuals like ‘Erfan, aged 18,’ standing along with his buffaloes in a pool of waste water and sewage which collects in the dry river bed, or ‘Rizwan Sadir, a wrestler and factory worker’, shown showering with polluted water from a hand pump next to the Ravi. Other images such as that of Ram Janni, a drain cleaner and Dillah Masih a street sweeper or Asif Masih,who is shown pushing piles of rubbish down the canal to stop it from getting clogged up, seem to be a continuation of his concern for the poor minority communities which he had shown in an earlier exhibition.

Hutcheson has also photographed various parts of the city to show the deplorable antiquated water and drainage facilities, most of which date back to the pre-partition plumbing system. His work nonetheless reflects a painterly bent of mind, and despite the unsavoury subject matter, most of the visuals tend to have a captivating charm of their own. Bravo for the photographer, who has shown us what we tend to forget. But if we continue to do forget, our neglect is likely to be unforgivable.