TIGHTROPE WALK The photo shoot for the work shown today in the museum of the Arab World Institute (Institute du Monde Arabe) in Paris occurred at the same time as the events known as the “Arab Spring” in 2011. During that time it was not possible to visit several countries (such as Syria) and others were considered very dangerous. Despite these risks, I could not resist to the experience visiting all those countries in the Arab world...
...Once on site I was struck by the gap between the information provided by the local media and the reality I was confronted with. I was in Cairo during the heavy fighting of May 5th, 2011, I was filming in the Maghreb at the time of Muammar Gaddafi's death, living in such historic moments in small villages rather than large cities, in unspectacular neighborhoods where the everyday life continued with the same fears, hopes, tensions and jobs as yesterday and tomorrow.
In this exhibition, I aim to highlight the places and the people that nobody looks at, those that are at the margin, that are not considered. This vast majority of humanity is part of History.
NEVER ENDING LANDSCAPE
NOMADS, SINAI, EGYPT
WHERE DOES THE CITY START? WHERE DOES THE MOUNTAIN END? OMAN
Oasis - Oman
MOBILE HOME, KUWAIT
CONSTRUCTION SITE, QATAR
SCAFFOLDING, KUWAIT
WALL, TUNISIA
PETROL STATION, MOROCCO
DREAMS ON WALLS, EGYPT
KING OF THE ROAD, SINAI, EGYPT
Sinaï (2011) by Anna Katharina ScheideggerInstitut du monde arabe
CRUMBLING, PAST DAYS IN SYRIA THE SOUND OF DAVID TRESCOS is the story of this film: a story of something that is crumbling, falling apart and, in the end, the story of new birth. Shot with a caption stand and a high contrast black & white film, each image corresponds to a specific sound...
...The pictures consist of re-filmed architectural photographs shot in Syria: Palmyra, Malula, Bosra, and Damascus. This is a journey through the first civilizations, that is, in the strict sense of people living in cities. The film is dedicated to Tamer al-Awam, a Syrian filmmaker and activist I had the chance to meet in Berlin. He was killed in 2012 while he was working in Aleppo.
WAITING, TUNISIA
DAVID AND GOLIATH, QATAR
HOME, CAIRO, EGYPT
REFUGE, CAIRO, EGYPT
NEIGHBORS, BEIRUT, LEBANON
AVOIDED LOOKS, KUWAIT
TIE GAME, MOSQUE, BEIRUT, LEBANON
THREE RELIGIONS, A SYMPHONY
PASS ACROSS, CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
THE AUNTIE, LEBANON
THE SHEPHERDESS, MOROCCO
ON THE BEACH, DOHA, QATAR
END OF THE DAY, SINAI, EGYPT
PREAMBLE OF THE ARAB WORLD INSTITUTE IN PARIS The preamble consists of several parts linked to each other: sounds of voices in different languages, videos of people walking and a never ending landscape: what looks like a journey that covers endless miles is a compilation of hundreds of photographs shot across the 22 countries of the Arab League. The installation introduces the museum to the visitor, it offers a snapshot and shows the diversity of the Arab world today.
THE ARAB WORLD WALKING
PORTRAIT, TUNISIA
Portrait - Qatar
Portrait - Qatar
The act of photographing someone means to expose the relationship between the photographer and its subject. As a result, portrait of a person is somehow always a sort of self-portrait as well. A photographer captures the way another person looks at him or how they want to be represented, what they desire to show to the person behind the camera...
TOMORROW, CAIRO, EGYPT
OMAN—Shakir Mubarak Al-Araimi
