Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI and MALAK ALZEYOUDI (ABU DHABI)
Photography is more than a tool for capturing the world; artists are using it to reimagine our relationship with identity, memory, heritage and everyday life.
These ideas come together in Spectrum: "Becoming Visible: Becoming Image," the culmination of the fourth cohort of Manarat Al Saadiyat's flagship Photographer-in-Residence Programme.
The exhibition showcases works by 10 Emirati, regional, and international artists based in the UAE; following a four-month residency combining research, mentorship, studio access and critical exchange under photography expert and programme mentor Jassem Rabee Al Awadi.
Spanning photography, video, sculpture, textiles, and mixed-media installations, Spectrum reflects the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and Manarat Al Saadiyat's efforts to nurture emerging talent, strengthen the creative economy and reinforce Abu Dhabi's position as a growing centre for photography and visual arts.
Aletihad spoke to some participating artists and learns how the residency shaped works ranging from childhood experimentation and musical portraiture to migration, Emirati heritage and the night sky.
Fruitful Pursuit
Emirati artist Dhabia AlMansoori, whose practice spans interactive installations, augmented reality and digital storytelling, said the programme changed the way she approached photography.
"The programme made me think a lot beyond the surface level. My idea of a picture was just a picture that looks nice," she told Aletihad.
Her project "With This Fruit, I Will Build a Kingdom" follows Mohamed, her 10-year-old younger brother, as he explores fruit through play and experimentation.
Shot over several months across a fruit market, studio and dining room, the series traces his journey from handling and cutting fruit to building with it. The photographs are displayed chronologically inside a tower of wooden blocks, reflecting how children learn through play.
"The idea is something along the lines of how something considered simple can become a masterpiece," AlMansoori said.
At its heart, the project embraces experimentation and imperfection: "The message I wanted to deliver is: 'Please do not be afraid of versions of yourself that might not be perfect. Go after things."
Analogue in Vogue
For Dr Faisal Al Marzooqi, a dentist, musician and analogue photographer, Spectrum became an opportunity to move beyond his usual street and documentary practice. His "Echo Chambers" uses high-contrast analogue portraits to reveal the personalities and motivations behind musicians.
"I wanted to know them more while they are performing, while they are writing songs, and try to peer behind the curtain that is the musician," he told Aletihad.
Raw contact sheets capture Al Marzooqi's perspective, while the musicians select the final enlarged portraits themselves. Presented in black and white, the grain, blur and contrast draw attention to character and emotion.
"A black-and-white photo is a photo of the soul," he said. "I wanted to peer into their souls, hence why it's black and white."
The residency also pushed him towards more personal portraiture.
"I learned to step out of my comfort zone," he said. He now plans to expand the series to include more local and Emirati musicians and traditional music.
Apples & Palms
For Abu Dhabi-based artist Yijing Li (Bao), the exhibition became a dialogue between her life in the UAE and her hometown in China. Her mixed-media installation, "Come Back When the Trees Bear Fruit", uses trees to explore family, belonging, migration and return.
"This is like a conversation between two geographical locations. This is where I am right now, and this is where I am from," Li told Aletihad.
The work grew from her long-standing exploration of apples. After returning to her hometown following years away, she planted an apple tree that is now cared for by her family and Auntie Wang, who told her to "come back when the trees bear fruit".
The installation connects that tree with the palm outside her Abu Dhabi window and an ancient tree in her hometown associated with generations of migration.
"I feel like the palm tree in the UAE carries the same idea of family, belonging, memory and everything," Li said.
Drawing on mashrabiya elements and Chinese paper-cutting techniques, the work also reflects her interest in pushing photography beyond a flat image into an immersive experience.
Starry Exchanges
Meanwhile, Emirati photographer Mahra Al Sheryani looks much further afield: into space, while grounding her work in local heritage. Her mixed-media installation, "Thuraya: Constellations of Inheritance", combines astrophotography with traditional Emirati burqas to explore how knowledge and cultural memory pass between generations.
Featuring images of the Andromeda Galaxy, East Veil Nebula, Trifid Nebula and Rosette Nebula, the work takes its name from the Pleiades star cluster, known in Arabic as Thuraya. Historically, stars helped communities in the Emirates navigate travel, agriculture, pearl diving and seasonal change.
Al Sheryani's work connects that celestial knowledge with the experiences of Emirati women, using the burqa as a trace of memory and inheritance.
"A constellation is knowledge, memory... and you have an understanding of where our place is within it," she told Aletihad.
For Al Sheryani, the project demonstrates "that there is always a way to connect science and culture, and how everything blends together and complements each other."
Her curiosity is already taking her from the cosmic to the microscopic, with her next project turning towards microbiology. "If I grow mold, I take pictures of it. That is my next project," she said.
Grounded on Ghaf
"Whoever has a Ghaf tree, a sheep and a camel will never die of hunger" - this traditional saying reflects the enduring place of the Ghaf tree in Emirati life, a connection explored by Emirati photographer Nadia Al Nuaimi through her work.
Passionate about landscapes and portraiture using natural light, Al Nuaimi's project looks at the Ghaf as a symbol of resilience, community and continuity.
Historically, people gathered beneath its shade to talk, make decisions and share stories.
"The Ghaf tree represents the concept of continuity, since this tree never dies and withstands the heat," she told Aletihad.
Meanwhile, Khadija Hamid, an Emirati photographer and multimedia artist exploring identity, memory, and heritage through floral symbolism and documentary storytelling, in her project, "Where We Bloom Unseen".
She has used flowers as a visual language through which it explores identity, memory, emotions, and the human experience.
"As humans we grow, develop and die. Human beings constantly go through these stages. That is why I think to use the flower as a human regardless of the environment that reflects the person," she told Aletihad.
"The programme helps us to develop our projects and work on them until it reflects who we are."
