In Pictures

In Pictures: Light from the Middle East

A contemporary photography exhibition in London offers insight into the diverse and fast-changing region.

PRE1.8-Abbas 2010,6034.png — "Rioters burn a portrait of the Shah" during the 1979 Iranian revolution, by the iconic Iranian photographer Abbas. The series of news photographs serves as a prelude to the exhibition, as curator Marta Weiss explained, "to indicate that photography in the Middle East is not brand new, that it hasn(***)t suddenly emerged from nowhere".

London, UK – A major exhibition of Middle Eastern photography has opened in London combining the expertise and resources of two of Britain’s most respected museums – the Victoria and Albert and the British Museum.

Organisers of the free exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum said more than 12,000 people visited in the first five days to see the 94 photographs by 30 artists from the Middle East.

For the show, the “Middle East” is a purely geographic definition that ranges from North Africa to Turkey to Afghanistan, curator Marta Weiss explained.

Weiss designed the photo exhibition, which runs until April 7th, into three sections: recording, reframing and resisting. But there is a prelude: a photojournalism series from 1978-79 of the Iranian revolution by the iconic Iranian photographer Abbas.

Weiss said she included the Abbas photographs “to indicate that photography in the Middle East is not brand new, that it hasn’t suddenly emerged from nowhere”.

Weiss said the artists she’s chosen for the show aren’t photojournalists and they aren’t just taking snapshots, but exploring what photography means on a deeper level.

She said the exhibit looks at “how photographs can be used for different purposes – propaganda, censored, or manipulated, and within the Middle East there is a heightened awareness of that due to the particular circumstances”.

7.2-Al-Dowayan 2009,6034.png — This photograph by the Saudi artist Manal Al-Dowayan is part of a series titled, "I am a Saudi Citizen". The woman is photographed with the Saudi flag and traditional heavy jewellery, suggesting women are weighed down by traditional Saudi society.

Atiq Rahimi.png — "On the Threshold of Time", by Afghan photographer Atiq Rahimi, uses a basic box-style camera to photograph contemporary Kabul. The camera gives an unpredictable effect, calling into question the stability of the image and the city itself.

Jananne Al Ani.png — A still from Jananne al Ani(***)s video "Shadow Sites II" deliberately introduces ambiguity. As the aerial views of the desert zoom into detail, the scale plays tricks with the eye, questioning the authority of the picture.

Newsha Tavakolian. From the series Mothers of Martyrs, 2006.jpg — Newsha Tavakolian(***)s photographs of "Mothers of Martyrs" show mothers holding pictures of their sons killed in the Iran-Iraq War from 1980-88. The grieving mothers age and wrinkle, as their sons remain forever young.

Nermine Hammam. The Break, from the series Upekkha, 2011.jpg — In "The Break", Nermine Hammam photographed young soldiers sent to Cairo(***)s Tahrir Square during the 2011 uprising. The photographer sensed the conscripts(***) unease and digitally manipulated the photographs, transporting them to scenes of bucolic beauty.

Abdulnasser Gharem. Al Siraat (The Path) 2007.jpg — "The Path (Siraat)" is a photograph of an installation made by the Saudi artist Abdulnasser Gharem. The artist painted the word Al Siraat ("the path") on the remains of a bridge washed away in a flash flood, which killed a number of people who had taken shelter on it. "The Path" has both religious and literal meanings in this context.

Waheeda Malullah, a Bahraini artist, depicts a Shia custom whereby relatives visit the tombs of loved ones, touching them to seek or give blessings. Malullaha(***)s series, Light, 2006, exaggerates the custom as she photographs herself lying near the tombs.