Filed under: Rants & Raves, Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: car, crash, photo, wreck
it used to be a car. now it's a story
Yesterday, I took these photos of a terrible car wreck. I debated with myself whether these are considered ‘art’ or not. I did post them on Facebook. But am I being lewd and exploitative by posting them here (or there, for that matter!)? I may be sick, but I find great beauty in this wreckage. It’s not cool that it happened, and it’s not cool that most likely the person who was driving this is dead. But if I remove that from the final result- the wreck and these photos-is it possible to filter out the tragedy and be left with a painful reminder in the form of an onsite installation? People were actually driving to what’s left of this Lincoln Town Car to take photos. Many of these people were with their uniformed kids (this is where I park to pick up my children after school) who had brought along cameras (the crash is three days old today). I saw at least three dads come through with their children, commenting on the wreckage, shaking their heads and tut-tutting. Would they have gone to an art gallery to see this specimen of modern day ruins? Or is it up to the artist to dub this a work of art, take it to its next evolutionary stage? I don’t know. I just feel strongly that I have to hope I’m forgiven by whoever it was in this car for posting these photos. (more…)
Filed under: Experimentation, Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: iPhoto, photo, pool
Some more fun with a sister (thanks, Yasmine, you’re a trooper), camera, iPhoto and lots of water. Oh, and my mom’s star of the night, a fitted, red sheet from IKEA. (more…)
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Filed under: Sometimes I think I'm a photographer, The Book of Traffic Lights & Other Observations | Tags: diary, grievous, monopoly, star wars, yoda
dotty
Filed under: Eventful, Exhibitions, Kuwait 50/20 Exhibition, Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: 50/20, bassem mansour, Exhibition, farah behbehani, fatima al qadiri, Kuwait, monira al qadiri, Sultan Gallery
the gallery, a tree of life and the water which feeds it
I finally managed to make it to The Sultan Gallery this morning for a much-anticipated group show Exhibition 50/20. Most of the artists exhibiting here, when you put them in a room together, you’re going to get something like this: the ugly beautiful, the beautiful ugly, gender mish-mashes, political hodgepodge, religious under-, over- and in-between-tones, and in this instance a tantric tree of life. (more…)
Filed under: Hand in Oil, Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: apes, black, evolution, fingers, Kuwait, liquid, oil, petroleum, photography, primates
gangrenous. fossilized. black
Filed under: FA Gallery, Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: adam & eve, Exhibition, fa gallery, fatima el hajj, Kuwait, magazine, photo, photography, publication, shoot
this is the first painting that caught my eye in the gallery, 'moroccan door'. maybe it was because i was giving fatima a big hug when i spotted it, or maybe because it just tugged at my heart. it was the first of many favorites. photos don't make fatima's work justice because it is so, so visually tactile and delicious
I had a very busy morning yesterday. It was one of those mornings you feel were worth getting out of bed and driving around town for. Good company, a big jar of assorted eye candy and a healthy dose of cultural adrenaline. After the car show, I drove to the FA Gallery to see Lebanese artist Fatima El Hajj’s exhibition, Gardens of the Spirit. I wasn’t sure she would be there, and if she were, I wasn’t sure she’d recognize me. I met her in Beirut eons ago (and in what seems like another lifetime). We had met over coffee and I remember her taking me to one of her favorite bookshops and buying me two gorgeous Mohamed Naciri books. The books inspired me and her gesture really touched my heart. Other than her colorful paintings, that is what I remember about Fatima El Hajj. As I said above, Fatima’s works are very tactile. I do wish I took closer photos of her work, but I was too busy taking the paintings in.
As a bonus, the crew of Adam & Eve magazine was there for a photo shoot. And I get so excited at photo shoots! I’m so glad they were using both the gallery (which I am more and more warming up to) and Fatima’s work as a backdrop. Good choice. (more…)
Filed under: Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: car, classical, concourse, historic, Kuwait, minerva, museum, showroom, vintage
i love vintage anything, so this morning i was a bit like imelda marcos in a louboutin outlet store. what a treasure trove in the midst of shuwaikh industrial area!
I bet you didn’t know we had a museum of cars in this country. Well, we do. And I was there this morning. If anything lends itself to being photographed, it’s these majestic automobiles. I could describe the experience but nothing beats being there and feeling the sheer magnitude of the sizes, color and stylings of these glorious machines. The museum even houses an original Astin Martin DB5 from the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger.
The address is: Shuwaikh Industrial Area, Block 8, Street 49. You can see the building and sign to your right if you’re driving on the 80 heading towards the City (before the 55 intersection). (more…)
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Filed under: Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: bait lothan, beads, Exhibition, Kuwait, photography, preparation
we don't know where to look, but everywhere we do is exquisite
Filed under: Ghadah the Poser, Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: black, florence, hotel, Kuwait, photo, photograph, steampunk, westin, white
Months and months ago, I was introduced by my friend Tom, to the word steampunk. I instantly fell in love with it. A few weeks ago, my friend Simon said that I had the potential to be steampunkish and I disagreed with him, ‘How ridiculous!’. Then this morning I was going through some old photos and found this. My first thought was…I think you can guess.
This picture was taken in 2007 in Florence, room 206 at the Westin Hotel.
Filed under: Sketchbook, Sometimes I think I'm a photographer, The Bspot | Tags: dress, gown, ink, Kuwait, pen, photography, sketch
Filed under: Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: avenues, dishdashas, fashion, fun, Kuwait, kuwaiti men, photography
clustermen (you can see my brother mohammed and his wife jana in the upper left hand side)
These were taken at an event raising awareness to keep Kuwait clean. The event was organized and headed by Ms. Iqbal Al-Eissa, Jana’s mom. My mom was involved as well so you can say it was a bit of a family affair. (more…)
Filed under: dar al-funoon, Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: dar al-funoon, fooling around, fun, gallery, Kuwait, mannequins, noon collection, photography
yasmine, what have you done?
Last Ramadan, Yasmine and I visited Dar Al-Funoon at the last minute to check out the Noon Collection. Unfortunately, the skirt that Yasmine had seen in the catalog and loved had been sold. But when life gives you lemons, you make lemon merangue pie, or in our case, try on some other lovely outfits and bug Vessant who was trying in vain to put the mannequins away. (more…)
Filed under: Sometimes I think I'm a photographer | Tags: architecture, behbehani complex, casper and gambini's, deema al-ghunaim, Kuwait, Middle East, miti aiello, mubarakia, photography, pigeons, The Sultan Gallery
On January 6 (David Bowie’s birthday), my friend Miti and I embarked on a tour of downtown Kuwait and Sabhan. We started out with a highly ambitious plan to visit the Behbehani Complex (check), the Grand Mosque (we drove by and waved), Mubarakia (check), Kuwait’s Museum of Modern Art (skip) and The Sultan Gallery for Deema Al-Ghunaim’s show (check). We also ended up having a leisurely coffee (accompanied by a leisurely breakfast) at one of my favorite restaurants: Casper & Gambini’s.
We took loads of photographs. Unfortunately we were out at a very sunny time of day and my photos (because i’m not a photographer-excuses, excuses) turned out overexposed. (more…)
