T h e
S u n s h i n e
M e n Christopher Osborne
T h e
S u n s h i n e
M e n
C h r i s t o p h e r O s b o r n e 2 0 1 5
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Preface The light industrial area of Umm Ramool lies between Dubai’s iconic DXB Terminal 3, and IKEA’s deep blue and yellow symbol of value furniture retailing, yet this area of Dubai is far closer to the East than the West. Eyes closed, and listening to the sounds, it is easy to imagine that you’re standing in Delhi, Mumbai or even Lahore. This is the home of the Sunshine Garage, which is nestled between a workers restaurant and another garage. There is a quiet team of young men, mostly from Pakistan, but some from India. They industriously service and repair. Parts that would simply be discarded in the West are cut, modified and rebuilt. Opening a box or plastic bag to use something new is a last resort here. Whole engines and gearboxes are rebuilt. The spray booth doesn’t just mend but also transforms Arabic white 4x4’s into gleaming black motors for the African market. Hashmi’s team are humble, yet knowledgeable, quiet, yet motivated, skilled and hardworking. I set out to capture the story of the workforce of the Sunshine Garage, “the Sunshine Men”. Everyone at the Sunshine Garage has welcomed me, and I can’t help noticing that there is a bond between this group of men, all far away from home, all from different places, a kind of Eastern Band of Brothers. Christopher Osborne 2015
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L i s t o f P l a t e s Cover 5 Interior view of the Sunshine Garage 7 Hashmi on the office telephone with reflections of the garage 9 Mohammed, Hashmi and Majid in the office/reception 11 Tools lie on the workbench 13 Hashmi in full flow‌ 15 Riaz in the workshop 17 Toyota 4x4 differential on the bench 19 Mazhar tops up transmission fluid 21 Portrait of Rizwan 23 Fitting the air intake to a 4x4 25 Mazhar cleans an engine by spraying it with diesel 27 Damaged engine components 29 Spray booth 31 Dadu removes trim 33 ??? straightening trim 35 Still life of nuts and bolts 37 Portrait of Afzal 39 Dadu refitting trim 41 Andrew looks up from the newspaper while Imran masks a car with paper 43 Imran polishing 45 Imran in the spray booth 47 Toyota 4x4 axle 49 Mazhar and Rizwan talk to Aurang while the oil drains from his van 51 Mazhar’s reflection is caught in a car window 53 Portrait of Anwar 55 Rizwan talks politics with Riaz while Mazhar looks on 57 Engine oil still life 59 Irfan climbs out of the engine compartment of a 4x4 61 Mazhav changes a radiator hose under the light from an LED strip 63 The Sunshine Garage after dark. Rizwan in the foreground and Hashmi and Mashar in the background
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A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s Hashmi, his team, and the customers of the Sunshine Garage have allowed me to interrupt their daily routine in order to take this series of photographs. There have been times where I have got in their way, and they could not have been more patient and gracious. I can’t thank these people enough: Mohammed Saud Hashmi Owner/Manager Riaz Iqba Assistant Manager Mohammed Irfan Senior Mechanic Rizwan Ashraf Auto electrician Mazhar Hussain Senior Mechanic Mohammed Imran Spray painter Dadu Bangal Panel Beater Afzal Bajwa Logistics Anwar Hussain Customer Majid Mohammed Al Shamsi Customer Mohammed Hussain Customer Aurang Zab Van driver Andrew Gilroy Grip & newspaper reader Finally, I’d like to thank Andy Moxon from the University of Gloucestershire for his teaching, critique, encouragement, and enthusiasm for this project.
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