Stepping back in time

Photographer Fatima Dashty is stepping down memory lane to capture the essence of traditional Bahrain life with a stunning array of elaborate historical re-enactments.

Faithfully portraying old town and village living, Fatima’s compositions encompass occupations of yesteryear, family lives and home interiors, preserving the memories of eras gone by in colour.

The Bahraini mother-of-two discovered photography as a creative outlet during her school days, but started taking it more seriously from 2015.

“Images portraying the past are close to people’s hearts,” Fatima, 31, told GulfWeekly, describing the element of nostalgia that makes her work so relatable.

“I get my inspiration from Egyptian and Omani photography which in my opinion is so full of character,” she added.

Her research process includes talking to older relatives and local photographers, watching old television shows and exploring social media.

Fatima sometimes comes up with ideas for her projects on her own, and sometimes through group discussions with other enthusiasts. Collaborations and group sessions are valuable because they mean greater access to resources, shared sets and models, and above all, constructive feedback, she added.

Working without the luxury of her own studio, Fatima has to create her own sets in rented locations or simply use existing picturesque places like the A’ali Heritage Village and local farms with permission.

“I plan a lot of the details beforehand, but animals that appear in my work are sometimes not planned! They tend to be lucky coincidences,” she added. “I find donkeys are calm and easy to work with but horses get sick of being photographed, justifiably!”

Apart from historical re-enactment photography, all of Fatima’s work is united by a common theme of ‘human stories’.

Subjects include elderly couples, people at work, locals in villages, and people observing a multitude of cultural celebrations on the island.

Fatima takes photographs around Hindu and Sikh temples in Bahrain too and enjoys capturing special occasions enjoyed by the expatriate community such as Holi. Closer to home, the Bahraini mid-Ramadan tradition of Gerga’oon always touches the heart with children playing.  She is now focusing on National Day celebrations coming up over the next few days.

“When out in public, it’s important to ask for permission to take pictures, to chat and communicate with potential subjects,” she added.

“Photography is very competitive nowadays, with a constant stream of people learning the art and participating. Unfortunately, if you are not careful your ideas can get stolen.

“I set hard deadlines to motivate myself to finish a project and get started on the next as soon as possible.”

Fatima has won several photographic competitions, and this year she took first place in the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) National Day contest, first place in the YK Almoayyed Ramadan challenge and fourth place in the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority competition.

Soon she will be sharing new images taken on a trip to the Omani desert and will also be participating in a Bahrain Photographic Society Pop-up Exhibition to be announced shorty.

For more details, visit @fdashty_ on Instagram.