Ayyam Gallery's 'Lens And Light Exhibition' Celebrates Photographic Diversity
An engaging photography exhibition featuring notable regional artists is currently on display at Dubai's Ayyam Gallery. The exhibition, titled Lens & Light: Moments in Focus, explores the diverse styles within photography and its significant role in art history, particularly in expressing the Middle Eastern experience.
"Photography immortalises moments like no other medium, moments from everyday life, whether happy, sad or hard," Maya Samawi, director of Ayyam Gallery, tells The National. "Photography captures instances forever, but a true photographer manipulates the camera to his advantage capturing the expressions he's looking to share with the world. Rather than experiencing photography solely through the eyes, they capture with the heart and soul through the device."
The exhibition showcases works by Syrian filmmaker Ammar al-Beik; Iraqi conceptual artist Sama Alshaibi; French-Syrian journalist and photographer Ammar Abd Rabbo; Syrian artist Tammam Azzam; Saudi artist Huda Beydoun; Iranian contemporary photographer Majid Koorang Beheshti; Palestinian photographer Rula Halawani; Saudi artist Faisal Samra; and Syrian photographer Nassouh Zaghlouleh.
Exploring Identity Through Photography
Large-scale black-and-white photographs are thoughtfully arranged in two gallery spaces at Alserkal Avenue. These images capture light and shadow play, delicately composed narratives, and surreal photo-manipulated scenes. The works vary in style but are connected through existential themes related to identity.
"Something that ties the different artworks together is identity, utopia, and dystopia," Samawi says. "Through their work, the artists are rehashing their shared Middle Eastern identities, through photographs of their landscapes, rehashed archival images, or a shared past."
Al Beik's recreated images combine old archival and found photographs framed within coloured images based on the CMYK colour model of classical antique sculptures. His La Strada from Lost Images 2 Series depicts a passport-style portrait of a mother and child while Maximum Alert shows uniformed soldiers superimposed against colourful frames.
Political and Social Commentary
Two of Alshaibi's photographs from her Negative Capable Hands series connect the idea of earth's destruction to modern human experience. One photograph depicts hands interacting with an open pomegranate, its seeds scattered against rich brown soil. This image subtly comments on politics using metaphoric symbols.
"The photographs represent the instability and hardships the Middle East has been facing – an inescapable sorrow," Samawi says. "While some photographs allude to politics like Sama's Negative Capable Hands Series, others capture lost beauty like Nassouh Zaghlouleh and Rula Halawani's works on Syria and Palestine."
Another striking image is Abd Rabbo's People praying next to the Great Mosque in Mecca. It shows worshippers from a bird's-eye view with elongated shadows on tiled floors. This image reveals diversity in prayer while connecting people through worship.
Reframing Photography as an Art Form
The exhibition challenges viewers to reconsider what photography can achieve as a highly accessible tool today. It engages audiences through various artistic voices and demonstrates photography's often overlooked potential.
"I encourage people to come see this exhibition because people often overlook photography as a medium," Samawi says. "I recommend people visit to see the strength of the medium and learn more about art and different artists."
The exhibition Lens & Light: Moments in Focus offers a profound exploration of identity, politics, and social commentary through powerful photographic works by regional artists.
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