São Paulo – One of the photographic works that will be at the exhibition “Taswir, a fotografia árabe contemporânea” (Taswir, Contemporary Arab Photography) will bring images of the daily life without electricity of families and the Gaza Strip, Palestine. The author is Mohamed Abusal (photo above), a Palestinian that went to see the daily life with Shambar, a kerosene lamp.
The show where Abusal’s photos will be is opening this Thursday (28) night and may be seen until April 28 at no Instituto Tomie Ohtake in São Paulo. The exhibition is promoted by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the Arab World Institute in Paris to celebrate the Arab Community Day in Brazil and the 74th anniversary of the Arab League.
In an email interview to ANBA, the Palestinian gave details about his work. Abusal tried to depict the search for a light replacement without power and his photos show the visual effects of this alternative. “Shambar is the oldest replacement on kerosene for light in Gaza and was developed to work on natural gas, which is the cheapest of those that could work well at homes, shops and trips,” he said.
The show will be the first of Abusal in Brazil. He considers himself lucky for the opportunity, specially because the exhibition is held by great art institutes. “My photos went to South America and this will open new doors for me in the future,” he says about the possibility of new discoveries in the art world and convey messages through my photos. “I am proud to be part of this great exhibition at Instituto Tomie Ohtake,” he said.
Abusal studied Business, Multimedia and Leadership, but has also studied arts in parallel. “I’ve decided to develop my art talent and leave the business field,” he said. He has already shown his works in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Algeria, Qatar, United States, United Kingdom, France, Swiss, and Norway.
The focus of his artworks is the crisis in the Gaza Strip, where he lives. “Approaching this crisis visually, then present it in order to carry out comparatives, solutions, drawing (people)’s attention to aspects that fit in a project,” he says about his work. Focusing on research and concepts, Abusal dwells on his own social and local issues, specially the crisis of the contemporary. He says he watches and studies human rights, trying to insert the topic in his art.
Among Abusal’s career most important works is “Shambar,” that will be at the exhibition in Brazil. “It was a rare research into the deep darkness,” he said. The work is made up by photographs and paintings. At “A Metro in Gaza,” one of the artist’s most known works, Abusal made illuminated subway signs and photographed them where he envisioned the subway stations would be. There is no subway in the Gaza Strip. Abusal is a founding member of “Eltiqa,” a group of contemporary artists active since 2002.
“Taswir, a fotografia árabe contemporânea” will feature 78 pictures by 14 photographers from 12 different countries. It’s a reissue of two former AWI exhibits – one held during the 2nd Biennial of Photography in Paris, in 2017, the other one being “Oriental Christians: 2,000 Years of History.” One of the photographers, the French-Algerian Lazare Mohamed Djeddaoui will be at the opening.
Quick Facts
Exhibition: Taswir, a fotografia árabe contemporânea
Opening: March 28, 8pm
Runs until April 28, 2019, from Tuesday to Sunday, from 11am to 8pm
Free Admission
Instituto Tomie Ohtake
Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 201, Complexo Aché Cultural
Entrance on Rua Coropés, 88, Pinheiros, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Nearest subway station: Faria Lima, Line 4 – Yellow
Phone: 55 (11) 2245-1900
Website: http://www.institutotomieohtake.org.br/en/
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
