Moshtari Hilal is an illustrator based in Hamburg (Germany), where she studies Middle Eastern Studies and Politics. In July, her book We Were Drawn Here was published, an art book inspired by the meaning and power of portraits in establishing an identity, and based on photographs collected by artist and conservator Lukas Birk. Throughout his research in Peshawar (Pakistan), Birk collected photographic negatives from photo studios, of portraits taken during the 1960s and early 70s. The stories accompanying the images Moshtari Hilal illustrated for this book project are fictional narratives Lukas created. The result is a first attempt to revive the portraits as a source of collective history and memory through art. We asked Moshtari Hilal about We Were Drawn Here, decolonizing the mind, and transforming photos into drawings.
