If you’re in Dubai, don’t miss out on the opportunity to see Camille Zakharia’s beautiful photographic exhibition called Coastal Promenade.
Even tiny Bahrain has been swept up by the furor that has uprooted despotic regimes throughout the Middle East. And it’s not hard to see why. This once quaint coastal country has been overrun by a surge of capitalist change, forever altering its architecture and culture as a result. In part to help restore sections of its coast, Bahrain’s first female Minister of Culture, Sheikha Mai, commissioned the Reclaim Project shown last year at La Biennale International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. Camille Zakharia’s photography featured prominently at the event and will soon be on show at the beautiful Art Sawa Gallery in Dubai’s Al Quoz District.The solo exhibition will be officially open to the public from 23 February, 2011 to 22 March, 2011 and will feature world-renowned photographer Camille Zakharia’s portrayal of the state of Bahrain’s coastal promenade.
Bahrain won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice show for their exhibition curated by Noura Al-Sayeh, of which Zakharia’s Coastal Promenade photographic essay played a critical role.
According to the Art Sawa website, the world-renowned Lebanese artist is candid with his depiction of the changing promenade. In part his images reflect the “somber” effects that land reclamation has had on the marine ecology – an ecology that once supported a vibrant pearl industry.
But not all is lost. Some of the images demonstrate the remarkable ability of human beings to adjust to a dynamic environment, sometimes in colorful and spunky ways.
This is the second time that the man who fled the Lebanese civil war in 1985, since embarking on an exploratory journey with his camera, has shown his work to the Dubai public. The last time was at an event arranged by the British Council and Art Sawa last October.
There he “walked the audience through a captivating visual journey, discussing major projects completed in the last 15 years reflecting on issues related to the sense of self and belonging,” wrote the gallery.
In order to register for the February 22nd Grand Opening which starts at 7.30PM, please contact Art Sawa Gallery directly.
More on Art and the Environment in the Middle East:
Eco-Sexy Art: Strip Naked At The Dead Sea For Acclaimed Photographer
Art And Spirituality: The Antidote to Bigger, Better, More
When Abu Dhabi Art Meets Sand, Sun and Sky
image via Camille Zakharia –Courtesy Art Sawa
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
