With the curtain being raised on Xposure 2021 tomorrow (Wednesday), the leading international photography festival in the MENA region organised by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB) has revealed a packed programme for its fifth edition.
This year, Xposure has thoughtfully curated 1,558 works of around 400 renowned and emerging photographers, celebrating images that froze key moments in history, recorded people of diverse cultures, captured the beauty of nature, and more.
The four-day festival, which runs until Saturday, February 13, provides an exciting and innovative meeting place for practitioners to connect and communicate with curators and industry professionals from around the world. This year, through its programme of 54 exhibitions, 21 public seminars and discussions, 14 workshops, 14 expert-led portfolio reviews, and 10 focus groups, Xposure 2021 explores what photography has been, what it is now, and what it can be.
Connecting lives
For Chris de Bode who travels around the word capturing the dreams of children and covering issues relating to displaced persons, especially Syrian refugees, photography is a tool to connect with people.
“The doorbell is a much more important button than the shutter release on my camera. When someone opens, the contact is initiated. I make contact. And take pictures,” says de Bode, who primarily collaborates with Save the Children Netherlands.
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Muhammed Muheisen has been documenting the refugee crisis worldwide for over a decade, and is founder and chairman of the Dutch non-profit organisation, Everyday Refugees Foundation. For him, “It is never just a picture, it is a voice, it is a testimony and it is a message that lives forever.”
A worldwide traveller whose artistic vision is shaped by his global experiences, Brian Hodges specialises in portraits and documentary photojournalism that make a powerful connection to a place. For him, camera spells magic. “I’ve discovered a tool that imparts me the magical powers of connection to others and opens doors into other cultures. My tool is my camera,” is his succinct explanation.
Colombian Juan Pablo Ramirez, a former photojournalist who has been documenting the lives of Iranian sailors living by Dubai Creek for the past three years, says, “Photography is the key I use to enter different worlds.”
Bangladesh-based independent documentary photographer KM Asad, who focuses on humanity, disaster, social rights, and climate change, lives and breathes for that primary connection with his subject. He says, “When you are photographing, try to build respect, trust and connection with your subject. That, I believe, is how you will get your desired moment [on film].”
Effecting change by engaging the viewer
Welsh photographer Claire Thomas, whose work focuses on conflict, humanitarian and social issues, uses the camera as a means to effect change on the ground.
“Capturing conflict and the human struggle is a crucial means of engaging the viewer in the story, evoking empathy with those facing adversity. It can also serve as a warning against future suffering while highlighting that, even in our darkest hours, a glimmer of humanity prevails," Thomas opines.
Celebrated Russian freelance photographer Sergey Ponomarev, who is best known for his work covering wars and conflict in the Middle East as well as the migrant crisis in Europe, believes that, “A photojournalist is the eyes of society. At the scene, she or he analyses information and records facts and strangers’ emotions – like a mirror held up to events.”
However, Italian photojournalist Francesco Zizola who documents global conflicts and their hidden crises, raises cautions against the ‘problem of truth’ in documentaries. “It is often misunderstood that documentary is a faithful reproduction of reality”, says the photographer who focuses on the social and humanitarian issues that define life in the developing world and western countries.
Capturing elusive moments
UAE-based British fine art photographer Anthony Lamb is infatuated with water and negative spaces and incorporates stillness and silence in his work to delve into the emotional story of the image. His passion is “Capturing ethereal scenes of expressive simplicity, [there is] so much beauty we need to protect.” His philosophy: “[A picture is] a fleeting moment caught in time, but there is no time, only time to correct.”
Acclaimed photojournalist, India’s Ashok Verma is fascinated by the challenges of street photography. He believes that “There is nothing original in this world. It is just a combination of all your past experiences, manipulated by you in different quantities and proportions to produce that so-called original work.”
Two sides, two views
Light is the prime motivator for Pakistani photographer Atif Saeed who turns his lens on beautiful and remote wilderness locations to satisfy his love of nature and his passion for adventure. “[Photography] is all about human thought process," he says.
Former photojournalist Isa Ebrahim who specialises in depicting the lives of people across countries and cultures and has been the Vice President of the Bahrain Photographic Society since 2015, feels, “Photography is more than composition or light. It is story telling by freezing memories forever.”
Opening hearts and minds
An explorer at heart, Russia’s Daniel Kordan combines his passions for nature and travel to hone his skills in the genre of landscape photography. His motto is simple: “We live in this world to explore it, to inspire others, open their doors and hearts, and take the first step into the unknown.”
Canada’s Jody MacDonald who took to photography to document her adventures in remote locations around the globe, today focuses on the larger issues impacting cultures and the environment. "Photograph things that are important to you and that you connect with. Photograph subjects that you feel passionate about. Try to photograph them in your own way, with your own voice. No one will be able to replicate that. Don’t stop… persistence is key,” is her credo.
The human touch
Sohail Karmani’s fascination for human behaviour led the British professor at New York University Abu Dhabi to take up ‘people photography’, focusing on travel, street, and documentary photography. “I am driven by a genuine interest in observing people: the characters, the way they dress, carry themselves, interact, the vibes they give off, what makes them tick, but most importantly what their 'story' is,” he says.
Dubai-based landscape photographer and portraitist Mohammad Kamal, who strives to communicate the visual beauty of vast natural spaces through multiple exposures shot under dramatic light, concluded with unpredictability of photography: “Substance, art, chance and preparedness are a conspiratorial lot. Every photographer waits for the perfect shot by combining these elements. To my knowledge, it has never happened and, in all likelihood, never will.”
