ISLAMABAD: Nothing is more universal than the first glimpse of one`s destination, whether it is through a windshield, an airplane window or simply a glimmer at the edge of one`s vision.

Nageen Hayat`s photographs of Pakistan`s northern areas from the airplane window of her PK-451 flight is simple but powerful. More than that, it is the beginning of a story.

Hayat`s photographs are displayed as a part of the `Nomadic Footprints` art exhibition at the Nomad Art Gallery and Cultural Centre, which opens on Tuesday.

Her work, alongside that of Nadeem Ahmad and Riffat Khattak, celebrates the act of travelling within Pakistan and internationally, and explores the experience through photography, mixed media and watercolours.

Hayat`s series on Skardu is simple and linear. It opens with an aerial photograph before moving on to landscapes, portraits and photographs of anything that caught her eye.

But every photograph, on its own and as part of a series, told a story. Some stories were historical, such as the photograph of a several hundred year old maple tree at the Shigar Fort, or a mosque in Khaplu which features a combination of Muslimand ancient Buddhist architecture.

Some stories were personal Hayat lingered on a photo of a woman working in the fields, and explained how she saw the image almost as a painting.

She smiled as she talked about a photograph of village women carrying heavy loads down the mountainside and then again when she pointed out a photograph of their male counterparts relaxing and drinking tea.

Hayat`s work also includes a series on the Walled City, or Old Lahore. The photographs include pictures of the Badshahi Mosque and the Wazir Khan Mosque.

The series on Lahore also included photographs of Shahi Hamam, or the Royal Baths, which are currently being restored as part of the Lahore Walled City Project.

Nadeem Ahmad`s contribution to the exhibit focused on travels within Pakistan as well as abroad.

His series on local travel focused on Pakistani truck art which he called `art on wheels`, and was bright and vivid.

Ahmad used mixed media to depict movement in the paintings, each of which was focused on different angles of the trucks and various regions of Pakistan.

Commenting on his work, Hayat said: `None of this is what you would find at a commercial event... this is our passion.

The second part of Ahmad`s contribu-tion was inspired by a trip to Lusaka, Zambia, where he was asked to coach youth hockey teams. The work features a combination of pen and ink sketches and paintings, and explores the amalgamation of Pakistani and Zambian cultures.

Ahmad explained that the copper shades used in the paintings represented Zambias main source of income: copper.

While discussing the work, Ahmad ex-plained that Pakistan and Zambia not only shared a similar colonial history but that there were also similarities within the rural culture.

His paintings were inspired by natural Zambian landmarks such as Victoria Falls, Zambian culture and folklore, and his travel experiences.

The final artist featured at the exhibition was Riffat Khattak, a senior artistfrom Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khattak used watercolours and calligraphy to depict scenes from his hometown.

His work was dreamy and vivid, and featured a lot of figures and movement.

His calligraphy was a combination of Pashto, Urdu and English, and borrowed heavily from the poetry of Ghani Khan.

The exhibition will run until June 16.