This year's summer exhibition at Ayyam Gallery curates a selection of photographic works by regional artists including Ammar al-Beik, Sama Alshaibi, Huda Baydoun, Rula Halawani and Tammam Azzam, each delving into the world of memory and visual storytelling. Exploring themes of displacement and nuanced human relationships, Lens & Light: Moments In Focus encourages dialogue on pressing issues in the Middle East. According to Maya Samawi, Director of Ayyam Gallery, “Something that ties the different artworks together is identity, utopia, and dystopia. Through their work, the artists are rehashing their shared Middle Eastern identities, through photographs of their landscapes, rehashed archival images, or a shared past.”
By capturing the moment, these photographs go beyond the limits of reality by artistically expressing a collective emotion or event that may have otherwise been forgotten. Furthermore, creatives have experimented with the medium to enhance their mode of storytelling and make it more impactful and digestible to wider audiences. Saudi Arabian artist, Huda Beydoun, for example, showcases her work Tagged & Documented from her series Undocumented in which she overlayed the silhouette of a woman wearing Minnie Mouse ears over a monochromatic rooftop scene. Syrian artist Tammam Azzam, on the other hand, inspired by the 2009 movie UP, opted for photomontages as a way to convey his message of hope during the uprising in his homeland.
In a region burdened with soaring temperatures, a little time indoors is much appreciated and there is no better respite than wandering an art exhibition. Lens & Light: Moments In Focus is on show at Ayyam Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai until 31 August 2024. Learn More.
