Freeze frame

A Bahraini shutterbug’s photograph capturing  the youth of the kingdom in a new light has been snapped up to showcase amongst the vaunted feed of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, USA, report Naman Arora and Mai Al-Khatib Camille.

When Ishaq Madan, 29, headed out with a group of skateboarders clad in thobes to the Isa Town Educational Area, newly christened as the Bahrain Youth Avenue, he did not expect MoMA to curate it as one of their favourites, even though the idea for the shot came ‘like magic’ to him.

“I was reading the news when I saw the opening ceremony for the avenue and as soon as I saw it, the idea just popped into my head - It was like magic, to be honest,” the photographer explained.

“It was the first thing in my mind – I have to take some skateboarders and tell this story. Basically my photographs are visual storytelling – I like to tell tales through images, and this was a story I wanted to show and tell.

“It’s a very different side of Bahrain – not the traditional kind you’d normally see, in terms of photography, and it was a lot of fun.”

The photograph is a slice of time in the truest sense, capturing the moment a thobe-donning skateboarder flips his board mid-air, his gutra flying in the wind, in front of the road sign, artfully hiding the ‘Avenue’ part of it.

The result is a bottled moment illuminating the Bahraini youth of today – a blend of cultures where tradition finds its place alongside modernity as both yearn to thrive and fly.

Ishaq, a member of the MoMA photo club, shared the photo with the club and it was quickly picked up by the group, as they celebrated the photo club winning a Webby Award.

“It feels amazing. It was so surreal because I didn’t expect it at all. I just got a notification that MoMA had posted my picture on their account and I was in shock,” Ishaq added.

Ishaq’s photographs have previously been featured in an array of exhibits ranging from Sharjah Art Foundation’s Vantage Point 5 in 2018 to the Paris Biennale in 2019, Dubai’s Arab Street Vol. 2 and the 46th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition in 2020.

He was also commissioned by the Bahrain International Airport to create a piece for the new airport terminal.

What makes his images stand out are his techniques. He often combines natural light with soft highlights and unusual perspectives to create painting like photographs featuring characters captured in the frame.

His inspiration is heavily drawn from his desire to bridge the gap between Bahrain and the world through pictorial masterpieces.

“It’s amazing to see Bahrain on the world stage,” he added. I am sure we all feel the same way when we are watching a TV show or movie, and they mention Bahrain out of the blue. And we’d get excited and start pointing at the screen.

“It’s always nice to represent our island. It’s a special place and it deserves to be out there.”

As the young photographer shines in the afterglow of the honour, he is anything but resting on his laurels, already hard at work on his next project, adding, “Right now, I am working on publishing my first photo book but I can’t share any details about it at the moment.”