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Iraqi people
determine to live their lives as best they can
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The
photographs of Amr Nabil are now on display in Cairo, Egypt at The American
University in Cairo’s Sony Gallery. The exhibition entitled BAGHDAD
Before the Bombs Begin to Fall is an amazing display of Nabil’s exquisite
photojournalistic work, all taken within the month of September 2002.
The
exhibition went up days before the bombs actually did begin to fall on Iraq.
As
one walks through the well-organized exhibition, the photos seem to come to life
and fill up the gallery space. The photographs are so rich in color,
content, and movement that one would rather call them works of fine art, as they
feel intense with emotional and creative energy.
Nabil’s
images capture the “unofficial” everyday life of Iraqis under the pretext of
an impending war. In the short exhibition catalogue, Nabil is quoted as
depicting “a people who are convinced war is coming and who until that moment
are determined to live their lives as best they can.”
The
photographs are arranged sensitively, from the most innocent depictions of daily
life to the deeply sublime, increasing in intensity as the exhibition
progresses. As one enters the gallery the first images one encounters is that of
school children. The exhibition continues through images of daily life including
women shopping in the market and men playing checkers in a café. Toward the end
of the exhibition there are images of hospital scenes, one very striking image
of which is very young conjoined twins crying in the center of the picture. The
final and most beautiful series of works in the exhibition are the images of
prayer. What makes these works the most striking is the motion contained in the
images as the devotees bow to the ground. It is as if you are able to watch them
in real-time.
One
of the most beautiful and striking images is that of a woman buying meat at a
butcher shop. Covered in black from head to toe, she stands in the shadow of a
hanging side of beef. Her hands grip a wad of brightly colored blue and purple
dinars and her face expresses a look of annoyance or frustration as she bargains
for the meat. This photo offers such a beautiful contrast between life and
death and a commentary on the monetary substance that determines who is predator
and who is prey.
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Poetic use of living
fishes .. people know the meaning of beauty
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There
are a couple of themes running throughout the work in the exhibition. In about
one half of the photographs, the image of Saddam Hussein creeps into the picture
in some way, whether it be a statue in the background, a photograph on the wall
of a room, a public mural, or a small image imposing itself on a child’s
school book. The second theme in this body of work is Nabil’s poetic use of
living things such as fish and birds. Nabil uses animals in his work to give
life to the images.
The
tenderness and humanity captured in the work reflects Nabils intentions of
conveying “ideas of peace, love, motherhood, worship and charity.” There is
also a political aspect to the work, as Nabil states that “most of my images
in the exhibition come to confront the idea of sanctions and how people are used
to it and used to suffering with it.”
Trained
in art, it is no wonder that Nabil is able to successfully communicate his
emotional connection to his photographs. What makes this work especially real
and emotionally charged is Nabil's ability to capture such vibrant color,
seemingly freezing these moments of life in all of the detail that one would not
be able to absorb with the naked eye. “I believe that photojournalism is like
any other branch of art,” says Nabil. “I use different tools, but in the end
I produce images using lighting, composition and expression, similar to that of
a painter.”
Born
in Cairo, and currently based there as well, Nabil has been working as a
photojournalist since he graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts 1990. He
started out covering top Egyptian stories in Cairo for a Saudi Arabian
newspaper, then joined the Agence France Presse and is currently working for the
Associated Press.
Baghdad
Before the Bombs Begin to Fall will be on view until 8 May 2003 at the Sony
Gallery for Photography on the Main Campus of the American University in Cairo,
113 Qasr Al-Aim St, Downtown, Cairo, Egypt. Telephone: 797 5436.
Hours:
Sun-Thurs, 9 am-12 pm and 6pm – 9pm
Quotes
taken from the author online interview with Amr Nabil.
