Censoring ‘your friends and neighbors’ - “...the most interesting part about her work is that you can almost imagine how the people in the picture look like… One could think of him/herself in it....” (An accidental eavesdrop on a conversation, although not intentionally, may I honorably add.)
I was at the solo exhibition of Jowhara Al-Saud, a photographer who by all means is certainly not your “yet-another-chip-off-the-block” or recent addition to the score of shutterbug snappers. Her work has traveled extensively all over Europe and the United States since 2005, and two of her photos are now housed as part of the public collection at Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Green Box Museum in Amsterdam.
A series of photographs from her work, “Out of Line,” were hosted in Saudi Arabia for the first time as part of her solo exhibition last week at ATHR gallery. They have been previously seen at regional art fairs, including Art Dubai and NABATT in the recent past.
Biased by the header or not, her work certainly evokes the senses of the censors that find synonymy in our everyday manifestations of the ordinary. One way or another, we have learned to live with expurgation of skin, opinions, affections, ideas, necessities and everything else in no particular order.
Exploring a plethora of visual dynamics that may challenge traditional or religious sensibilities in view of public display, Al-Saud has managed to elegantly labor her way into combating the possibility of objections. She does this while still maintaining the freedom of self-expression in her photos, albeit through total ambiguity, by stripping her subjects of all facial recognition. A cleverly initiated trick worthy of all artistic appreciation, this element maintains the core of Al-Saud’s work. Yet, the visuals project an anonymity that becomes universal to all, regardless of race, culture, religion or geography.
Her photos beg a narration an observer can easily provide and be an intimate participant of. They represent a creative freedom without the scope for social judgments toward attitude, clothing and disposition or in addressing social taboos like mixed gender mingling. In a large sense, it is emblematic of a frank discourse of everyday occurrences, speaking mostly of friendship, family, relationships and the personal space of being.
It may not calculatingly challenge the status quo on the perpetration of heavily-exercised censorship, yet the entire series reflects an off-hand oblique satire of the issue prevailing largely in all spheres of public discourse and communication. Almost all her photos find a strong female centrality around which events seem to be woven, deliberating a subtle suggestion toward the existence of female bigotry.
“Many of the men in the photographs wouldn’t appear in a portrait meant for a public space in the same dress or playful poses. So, while I agree that the stigma is infinitely stronger toward females, men have different restrictions to contend with,” said Al-Saud.
She is also quick to point that she believes other issues addressed through her work find more relevancy, namely: “The stigma attached to publicly displaying portraits, the limitations of photography as a medium and the ubiquitous ‘snapshot,’ which in its candor and immediacy is able to transcend most geographic and cultural boundaries.”
“While the work started as an exploration of censorship, that isn’t what held my interest nor do I feel the final results are a mockery of anything. There’s no value judgment here, but just a highlight on a few things I felt merited a discussion,” she added.
Al-Saud uses uncommon paraphernalia like dental rotary instruments and near obsolete photography developing practices that are time-consuming, strenuous and technique-sensitive to obtain the desired imagery in her prints.
“Digital photography has come a long way and you can achieve wonderful things with it, but I always miss the hands-on technique. We’re human and not machines, yet, this is what we’re competing with. Nothing I make by hand will ever measure up to the precision of a machine-made or digitally doctored piece. However, there’s something beautiful about the striving. As with many other things, beauty lies in the attempt and is celebrated in the tell-tale human flaws,” explained Al-Saud.
She shared that she has begun work on another series that explores themes in a similar photographic medium although she refrained from discussing further.
“This show really has been a long time coming. Trust me when I say that I have been looking forward to this for a long time,” she said.
The most endearing part of the exhibition remained in tear-away postcards found in the guest art catalog: Ready for snail mail postage! ( arabnews.com )
I was at the solo exhibition of Jowhara Al-Saud, a photographer who by all means is certainly not your “yet-another-chip-off-the-block” or recent addition to the score of shutterbug snappers. Her work has traveled extensively all over Europe and the United States since 2005, and two of her photos are now housed as part of the public collection at Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Green Box Museum in Amsterdam.
A series of photographs from her work, “Out of Line,” were hosted in Saudi Arabia for the first time as part of her solo exhibition last week at ATHR gallery. They have been previously seen at regional art fairs, including Art Dubai and NABATT in the recent past.
Biased by the header or not, her work certainly evokes the senses of the censors that find synonymy in our everyday manifestations of the ordinary. One way or another, we have learned to live with expurgation of skin, opinions, affections, ideas, necessities and everything else in no particular order.
Exploring a plethora of visual dynamics that may challenge traditional or religious sensibilities in view of public display, Al-Saud has managed to elegantly labor her way into combating the possibility of objections. She does this while still maintaining the freedom of self-expression in her photos, albeit through total ambiguity, by stripping her subjects of all facial recognition. A cleverly initiated trick worthy of all artistic appreciation, this element maintains the core of Al-Saud’s work. Yet, the visuals project an anonymity that becomes universal to all, regardless of race, culture, religion or geography.
Her photos beg a narration an observer can easily provide and be an intimate participant of. They represent a creative freedom without the scope for social judgments toward attitude, clothing and disposition or in addressing social taboos like mixed gender mingling. In a large sense, it is emblematic of a frank discourse of everyday occurrences, speaking mostly of friendship, family, relationships and the personal space of being.
It may not calculatingly challenge the status quo on the perpetration of heavily-exercised censorship, yet the entire series reflects an off-hand oblique satire of the issue prevailing largely in all spheres of public discourse and communication. Almost all her photos find a strong female centrality around which events seem to be woven, deliberating a subtle suggestion toward the existence of female bigotry.
“Many of the men in the photographs wouldn’t appear in a portrait meant for a public space in the same dress or playful poses. So, while I agree that the stigma is infinitely stronger toward females, men have different restrictions to contend with,” said Al-Saud.
She is also quick to point that she believes other issues addressed through her work find more relevancy, namely: “The stigma attached to publicly displaying portraits, the limitations of photography as a medium and the ubiquitous ‘snapshot,’ which in its candor and immediacy is able to transcend most geographic and cultural boundaries.”
“While the work started as an exploration of censorship, that isn’t what held my interest nor do I feel the final results are a mockery of anything. There’s no value judgment here, but just a highlight on a few things I felt merited a discussion,” she added.
Al-Saud uses uncommon paraphernalia like dental rotary instruments and near obsolete photography developing practices that are time-consuming, strenuous and technique-sensitive to obtain the desired imagery in her prints.
“Digital photography has come a long way and you can achieve wonderful things with it, but I always miss the hands-on technique. We’re human and not machines, yet, this is what we’re competing with. Nothing I make by hand will ever measure up to the precision of a machine-made or digitally doctored piece. However, there’s something beautiful about the striving. As with many other things, beauty lies in the attempt and is celebrated in the tell-tale human flaws,” explained Al-Saud.
She shared that she has begun work on another series that explores themes in a similar photographic medium although she refrained from discussing further.
“This show really has been a long time coming. Trust me when I say that I have been looking forward to this for a long time,” she said.
The most endearing part of the exhibition remained in tear-away postcards found in the guest art catalog: Ready for snail mail postage! ( arabnews.com )
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