The Unbearable Solitude of the Third Eye presents Arif Mahmood: A Photography Retrospective (1985–2025), bringing…

The Unbearable Solitude of the Third Eye presents Arif Mahmood: A Photography Retrospective (1985–2025), bringing together four decades of Arif Mahmood’s (@arifmahmoodphoto) photographic practice at Mohatta Palace Museum.

Across four exhibition halls, the retrospective traces Mahmood’s sustained engagement with cities, landscapes, cultural rituals, portraits and moments of solitude. His photographs are marked by an attentive eye for people and places, capturing not only what is before the camera but the atmosphere, emotion and human presence within each frame.

The retrospective is organised across four sections: The City by the Sea, Endeavours of the Spirit, Citadels of Light and Legacies in Stone. Together, they offer a visual journey through 40 years of beholding, documenting and remembering.

Presented by Mohatta Palace Museum in collaboration with Dawn, the exhibition opens to the public on 4 October 2026.