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DUBAI – "Photography does not change the world. It will not make it a better place, but we hope it can help people think of things they have not thought of, "said Mohamed Somji, co-director of Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), the Dubai photography center.
Somji presented the GPP Photo Week 2019, which in its 15th edition had the theme "Get closer". The event brought together more than 13,000 visitors at exhibitions, workshops, conferences, events and other events on Alserkal Avenue, for six days in February.
The main exhibition was "The Shortest Distance Between Us: Stories from the Arab Documentary Photography Program" presented by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), in badociation with the Prince Claus Fund and the Magnum Foundation. .
The exhibition, curated by Jessica Murray, featured works by seven photographers who received grants and commissions from the Arab Documentary Photography Program.
Elsie Haddad's film "Stranded – On Life After Imprisonment" captured the intimate stories of a group of former detainees in Beirut who met in prison. Meanwhile, his youngest brother has been imprisoned for drug trafficking. "Suddenly, the project was at home. It had become very personal, "she said.
Each story became his own little book, produced in collaboration with his subjects, in which viewers could "think about the psychological effects of incarceration and what it meant for their return to society."
Heba Khalifa, from Cairo, in "Homemade" badyzed how women's bodies became a burden through socially and family-imposed norms. She created a private Facebook group where women shared their stories. She persuaded some of them to work together to rebuild their lives by creating an image.
Khalifa said he noticed a change in his subjects. They decided to show their faces, no longer worrying about the consequences. They said that they felt liberated. "Narrative offers us a way to heal, to free ourselves from the weight of experience," she said.
Mohamed Mahdy, based in Alexandria, in "Moon Dust" has documented Wadi al-Qamar, a residential area where 60,000 people live near a cement factory. The cement dust that covers the streets and houses causes enormous health problems among the inhabitants. "Moon Dust" highlighted the zoning conflict that created the situation and the fight for the survival of the inhabitants.
Mahdy said "believe in the man" and shared the work needed to initiate the conversation.
The AFAC Executive Director, Rima Mismar, said, "This documentary photography medium is not very developed in the Arab region. These seven projects attempt to examine some issues that concern the artist as well as society as a whole. He brings new stories from very personal perspectives of the artists themselves. "
"The problem today is with distribution channels. These works of art therefore do not have the chance to be seen by the national public. There is no shortage of work. The problem is where is it shown? So this GPP and Mohammed Somji initiative is really welcome, "added Mismar.
Murray, at a roundtable on "The shortest distance between us," said she was "humbled by the courage of young people, so determined to tell such difficult and personal stories."
GPP also presented "Facade to Facade" by Emirati artist Hussain al-Moosawi, who explored the UAE's rapid urban redevelopment in its gallery space.
Moosawi, a graphic designer based in Abu Dhabi, said: "This is part of my most important efforts to document the architectural heritage of the United Arab Emirates from the first three decades from the 1970s".
The 27 buildings of the United Arab Emirates whose facades he photographed represent the aesthetics of his time. "We have always considered heritage as something very old. It is therefore acceptable to say that the 80s are part of the heritage, "he said. "For a reason, mainly because the country has grown rapidly. In order for us to appreciate what we have now, we need to look at what we had 30 years ago. "
GPP's photos included workshops, demonstrations and lectures by world-renowned photographers Zack Arias, Maciej Dakowicz, Nick Fancher, Tanya Habjouqa, Mike Kelly, Sara Lando, Asim Rafiqui and Paolo Verzone.
Topics in the workshop included street photography, architecture and the fine arts. In addition, Valentina Vee's video workshops covered the basics of videography, an increasingly popular field.
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