����Ӱҵ

Uniting his passion for drawing with his interests in history and the city of Cambridge, Ibrahim Zamir (History 2022) finds that art can offer us a greater appreciation of both the past and our present surroundings.

History and art have always been interconnected interests for Ibrahim, whose fascination with the past was sparked from a young age by illustrations in children’s history books. These images being a lifelong inspiration, Ibrahim found historical illustration the perfect way to keep his mind stimulated during the first Covid-19 lockdown. In June 2020 he launched his blog, , which features drawings of historical events accompanied by short articles discussing these events.

Through combining his academic interest with his lifelong hobby of drawing, Ibrahim hopes to encourage people to engage more deeply with history by making the past more vivid and immersive through his images.

“I think that people can gain a sense of being in the moment,” he says. “You can engage with history in an artistic sense and notice certain details like the clothing that people are wearing or what they’re doing in a particular scene, which I feel is much more interesting than simply reading about it in a book. I think that combining literature with a visual approach can interest not only those who are already into the subject but also those outside it. And that goes back to how I got into history.”

In addition to the ongoing Empire of History project, during his time as a student Ibrahim has also been compiling a sketchbook showcasing Cambridge’s colleges, local landmarks and museums in a variety of drawing styles. He began this during his first Easter Term, in 2023. “I had a lot of free time on my hands after the end of my first-year exams, and I was feeling quite inspired by my surroundings more generally,” he says. “I thought it would be a great way for me to try to relate positively to my environment and to find a sense of attachment.”

As with his wider historical drawings, Ibrahim finds that sketching Cambridge has given him a deeper appreciation of the city. Through researching buildings and landmarks before sketching them, he has enjoyed learning about architects such as Alfred Waterhouse, who designed the Waterhouse Building that surrounds much of Tree Court, as well as areas of other Cambridge colleges including Jesus, Trinity Hall and Pembroke.

The juxtaposition of different time periods also makes the city appealing to Ibrahim as a subject for drawing. “Cambridge incorporates a sense of continuation while also being rooted in what came before,” he adds. “I notice this especially when going through different colleges. You have the traditional old court layout which has remained more or less unchanged since it was built, but then you also have these new additions, and things are always being rebuilt or reimagined.

“Our time in Cambridge can be quite fleeting, and there are only so many hours in the day that you can spend on hobbies and leisure activities. Being able to take a step back and just look around and notice everything from architectural styles to the way buildings are designed to objects in museums – it’s a nice way to unwind.”