Aarif Amod and the Art of Seeing People
Dublin, La Catedral Studios — Among the artists who shape the daily life of La Catedral Studios, Aarif Amod stands out as both a resident photographer and musician and a key support figure within the community. Raised between South Africa and Ireland, Aarif’s path has been marked by creativity, resilience, and a deep belief in the transformative power of art. His decisive shift from music to photography came in 2014, after a brain tumour diagnosis. What began as a means of healing soon became a vocation. Photography offered him a new way of seeing the world, and ultimately a form of recovery. It opened a space for reflection, purpose, and social engagement, teaching him that creativity can be a vital medicine.
At La Catedral Studios, Aarif channels this vision into Inside the Artist Studio, an ongoing documentary project capturing the everyday life of the artists who inhabit this vibrant space. Each portrait reveals an authentic moment of creation: hands covered in paint, quiet concentration, bursts of experimentation, the intimate pulse of work unfolding. These images, paired with a caption or short bio written by each artist, are shared weekly on the Studios’ Instagram account, offering the public a glimpse into a community defined by creativity, collaboration, and eclecticism. The project has quickly become a visual archive of the Studios’ spirit, honouring the people who give the space its heartbeat.
Beyond the walls of La Catedral Studios, Aarif is known for his passionate commitment to street and documentary photography. Over the past seven years, he has dedicated himself to documenting Dublin’s shifting social landscape, focusing on themes often overlooked: the homelessness crisis, cultural transformation, and the rapid expansion reshaping the city’s identity. His work aims not only to witness these realities but also to provoke reflection, encourage empathy, and spark conversation about the forces shaping contemporary Dublin.
His photographic book Moore Street Pulse, published by PhotoIreland as part of the TLP Editions (200-copy softcover, 32 pages), is a testament to this commitment. Developed through meaningful interactions with the communities of Moore Street, the series captures the vibrancy, cultural richness, and historical depth of one of Dublin’s most emblematic trading areas. Through expressive documentary images, Aarif chronicles a neighbourhood in transition, balancing renewal plans with the need to preserve cultural presence and memory. The project has featured in The Dublin Inquirer, Mother Tongues, Dublin Art Life, and has been showcased internationally through PhotoIreland’s networks.
Aarif’s work has also earned selection for the Source Graduate Supplement, PhotoIreland’s Images Are All We Have exhibition at Dublin Castle, the HALFTONE Print Fair, and the Mass Isolation publication by the Gallery of Photography Ireland. Across documentary and concert photography, his images are driven by the same intention: to connect, to reveal, and to honour the overlooked stories that define a community.
At La Catedral Studios, Aarif is an observer, a documentarian of human experience, and a connector within the creative ecosystem. Through his lens, the Studios’ daily rhythm becomes visible, and the city’s complexities gain shape and voice. His work reminds us that behind every image lies a relationship, and behind every relationship, a chance to understand our world more deeply.
Find more about Aarif’s work:
Moore Street Pulse, Aarif Amod – The Library Project
Documentary Portfolio: https://aarifamod.myportfolio.com/work
Concert Photography Portfolio: https://aarifamodlivework.myportfolio.com/work
Written by Federica Paletta