More than 400 UAE-based and international photographers will present a selection of their works through 54 exhibitions – 41 solo and 13 group displays – comprising 1,558 extraordinary and innovative images during the four-day event.
Dedicated to supporting the visual language in all its splendid genres, Xposure 2021 seeks to inform, expand awareness, and delight the UAE audience by showcasing a diverse range of artistic and experimental work that explores social, humanitarian, environmental, cultural, gender, and other issues impacting mankind today. The solo and group exhibitions will also offer unique perspectives on the evocative beauty of portraiture, sports, architecture, landscapes, and more, in a variety of formats that elevate the visual medium of storytelling.
Pushing the boundaries of photography
As the most popular photography festival in the region, Xposure 2021 is an invitation to the public to freely access and experience some of the most powerful and thought-provoking images of contemporary times.
Voices by Muhammed Muheisen
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Muhammed Muheisen’s search for the stories that have never been told and the voices that have never been heard have culminated in this series of images that documents the world’s refugee crisis, with a spotlight on the real victims of conflict – children. These images now become “their voice” to the outside world.
ANIMOSITY: Human-Wildlife Conflict Through the Lens by Aaron Gekoski
As animals are being traded, hunted, poached, consumed and exploited the world over, environmental photojournalist Aaron Gekoski showcases the story of the world’s wildlife in crisis through haunting and beautiful imagery as he documents mankind’s complex relationship with wildlife.
Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear by Paula Bronstein
This body of work is an eloquent portrait of everyday life in what may be the world’s most reported on and yet least known country – Afghanistan. Here, American photojournalist Paula Bronstein goes beyond war coverage to document the on-going challenges still facing the country today - human rights abuses, poverty, and instability, and shines light on the stirrings of new hope in the region.
Moods of Italy by Elia Locardi
Internationally acclaimed professional travel photographer, Elia Locardi, captures the intriguing architecture of Italy set against the backdrop of extraordinary weather conditions as fiery skies, turbulent seas, and monumental lightning storms depict the many moods of the country in a seemingly never-ending abundance of possible compositions.
Condemned by Robin Hammond
Using mental health stories to influence governments, inter-governmental organisations and corporations, Robin Hammond seeks to bring about an end to chaining and support people with mental health conditions.
Legacy of War by Giles Duley
This photographic project explores the long-term effects of conflict globally and documents the lasting impact of war on individuals and communities told through the stories of those living in its aftermath.
41 visually breathtaking solo exhibitions
Amongst the other global photographers presenting their solo exhibitions at Xposure 2021 includes Kuwait’s Mohammad Murad who allows the viewer to focus on the subject, textures, shapes and composition of his black and white images in ‘Absence of Colours’; Russia’s Sergey Ponomarev - best known for his work covering wars and conflict in the Middle East, will showcase his work titled, ‘A Lens on Syria’; landscape and nature photographer Atif Saeed captures the stunning beauty of one of the longest glaciers outside of the polar regions in ‘Baltoro’; the late George Rodger and Robin Morgan are represented thorough the collection titled, ‘Birth of a Nation’; and Palani Mohan captures the story of the very last men and their hand-pulled rickshaws in ‘The Last Rickshaws of Kolkata’.
Abdulla Albuqaish’s ‘Cities of Happiness’ directly connects to his love of architecture; ‘Combat Boots, Rifles, and Diamonds: “Tyre”Lebanon’ by Emma Francis is set in the secluded south-western Lebanese town of Naqoura; Ashok Verma focuses on the pandemic in ‘COVID-19: UAE Fights Back’; Jody MacDonald highlights cultural and environmental issues in ‘Decade’; Chris de Bode’s project capturing the dreams of children in presented in ‘Dreams’; and the minimalist approach of Anthony Lamb’s photography is reflected in ‘Escapes’.
Through ‘Falconry and the Arab Influence’, Brent Stirton explores the practice of falconry in the Arab region; ‘Faraway, so close!’ presents a poetic vision of old Paris as seen through the lens of Laurent Chéhère; Samy Olabi reaches for the stars with ‘Heavens and Earth’; Diego Ibarra Sánchez explores a contemporary issue in ‘Hijacked Education’; Francesco Zizola showcases his creativity in ‘Mare Omnis: The sea as a sacred relationship between man and nature’; while Isa Ebrahim documents the lives of the ‘Mursi Tribe’.
‘Mosul: Saving Lives on the Frontline’ is an ode by Claire Thomas to the voluntary medics on the frontlines of war in Iraq; international sports photographer Gareth Harford creates dynamic images in ‘No Limit’; travel photographer Brian Hodges makes a powerful connection to ‘Northern Uganda’ that is witnessing a renewed sense of optimism following decades of conflict and war; Dmitri Beliakov presents his portfolio through ‘On the Margins of Europe 2014-2019’; Mohammad Kamal explores remote locations and rural outposts in China and the Arctic Circle in ‘Outlands’; and António Bernardino Coelho gives an artistic take on plastic pollution in ‘Plastic: An Enemy’.
‘Resilience: September 11th, 2001’ is Ron B. Wilson’s documentation of a tragic event that destroyed two instantly recognisable symbols of America; visual anthropologist Ana Caroline de Lima focuses on an indigenous community in Brazil in ‘ Rikbaktsa’; Tadas Kazakevicius features Lithuania's fading countryside in ‘Soon to be Gone’; Senthil Kumaran looks at the decline of forest vegetation within and around elephant habitats that has also led to the loss of their traditional corridors of movement in ‘Tamed Tuskers’; ‘The Apocalypse According to Venus and other provocative Nature disruptions’ is part of Samuel Feron’s collection of three prominent works; while K M Asad’s ‘Cost of Slavery’ is a remarkable body of work based around the garments industry in Bangladesh.
The green and peaceful landscapes on the eastern side of Columbia’s Andes Mountains where emeralds are still found and which hide a terrible history of war, massacre and corruption form the narrative of Juan Pablo Ramirez’s ‘The Green Lottery’; while Seagram Pearce’s ‘The Light of Metal’ is a collective work of automotive art from across the globe, captured with the soul of light and design.
Luca Venturi brings to life the world’s most exciting horse race in ‘The Palio is Life’; Sohail Karmani impresses with an intimate portrayal of everyday life in Sahiwal, a city in the Punjab state of Pakistan; Tran Tuan Viet seeks out the intriguing beauty of the culture and people of his homeland in ‘Vietnam’; and in ‘Magical World’, Daniel Kordan showcases the incredible beauty of nature to highlight the diversity and fragility of our planet.
Compelling images in 13 group exhibitions
Xposure 2021 will present the works of photographic societies and organisations through a total of 14 group exhibitions featuring a choice selection of images from SIENA Photography Awards, Sharjah Shines Exhibition, Union of Arab Photographers, Xposure Photography Awards, Gallery X, and Emirates Photo.
In addition, Photowalk Connect will present the best of its work from the last five years under the theme ‘Circle of Life’; World Press Photo 2020 will feature award-winning images of the past year in the field of visual journalism; and 100 Journeys will showcase the very best of the images entered in the Travel Photographer of the Year awards over the last 18 years and the stories behind them told in the photographers’ own words.
This year’s Emirates Falcons Photography Society’s exhibition will see various categories represented under the theme of Black and White while the Ian Parry Scholarship exhibition comprises of a dozen selected entries from the last two decades of the scholarship.
