 |
| 'Untitled' by Jannane Al-Ani |
Recently, I have been to MCR Art Gallery and as some of you
might know, it is a great place to be in. The photography zone, as part of the
Modern and Contemporary exhibition, holds many conceptual photography
portraits. A lot of great artists portray deep-rooted concepts, though, one
artist drew me closely-into her piece.
That is, Al-Ani; a daughter to an Arab father and an Irish mother. Her piece shown above is part of her deep engagement with the history of the representation of Eastern women through Western photographers.
The models in the pieces are of Eastern and Western origin. Their clothes are once Eastern and once Western.
While I was observing, I saw a Japanese/Chinese/ Korean (Asian) girl observing too. So I waited until she finished looking deeply into the photographs and I embarked on asking her.
Which photograph of this artistic piece do you prefer?
-She smiled and then said. what do you mean?
I said: If you were to place one of these photographs in your house, which one would you choose?
she looked deep into the photographs again and after a bit she answered: the one on the right.
-Immediately, she asked me, and you?
I said, probably, the one on the left because I think there is an evident contrast in it than the one on the right. Isn’t it more interesting? Kind of unique!?
-She said: But, I think the one to the right is colourful and lively while the one on the left is dull and dark.
I left her, but her words didn’t leave me. That conversation really got into me, especially that I am into psychology as well so I tried to closely tie her Asian roots with the choice she made along with her remark.
I will ask you now,
if you were to place one of these photographs in your house, which one would you choose?
SIMA
That is, Al-Ani; a daughter to an Arab father and an Irish mother. Her piece shown above is part of her deep engagement with the history of the representation of Eastern women through Western photographers.
The models in the pieces are of Eastern and Western origin. Their clothes are once Eastern and once Western.
While I was observing, I saw a Japanese/Chinese/ Korean (Asian) girl observing too. So I waited until she finished looking deeply into the photographs and I embarked on asking her.
Which photograph of this artistic piece do you prefer?
-She smiled and then said. what do you mean?
I said: If you were to place one of these photographs in your house, which one would you choose?
she looked deep into the photographs again and after a bit she answered: the one on the right.
-Immediately, she asked me, and you?
I said, probably, the one on the left because I think there is an evident contrast in it than the one on the right. Isn’t it more interesting? Kind of unique!?
-She said: But, I think the one to the right is colourful and lively while the one on the left is dull and dark.
I left her, but her words didn’t leave me. That conversation really got into me, especially that I am into psychology as well so I tried to closely tie her Asian roots with the choice she made along with her remark.
I will ask you now,
if you were to place one of these photographs in your house, which one would you choose?
SIMA