Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The penultimate edition of a popular photography community initiative is set to take place this weekend, drawing attention to the artistic talents and natural beauty of Bahrain.
The Photos à la Chair initiative is set to have its 19th iteration and the final one for this season on Friday, February 10, at Bab Al Bahrain, from 2pm to 5pm.
The community project was conceived by Lebanese photographer Camille Zakharia and Bahraini architect Ali Karimi, who routinely conduct four or five photoshoots every year.
The concept is beautiful in its simplicity – an art piece or installation by a local artist forms the backdrop of a photoshoot held during an afternoon or two at a picturesque location in the kingdom, with every visitor or passer-by welcome to model, watch, photograph or socialise.
“The project began as a way of activating an installation done for Al Riwaq’s annual outdoor art show,” Ali told GulfWeekly.
“We thought of having an event that would feature artists, furniture designers, photographers, in the model of a one-day group exhibition.
“By having an intervention in an outdoor setting we gave ourselves the opportunity to test out design ideas in a physical space, and to hold an event that allowed us to interact with completely different parts of Bahraini society.
“Neither of us took the event seriously, it was purely speculative with no particular end in mind; but that allowed a conversation on art to occur outside the framework of any governmental or professional setting, which was a welcome change.
“We enjoyed the first event and decided to do another, and a few more after that.”
The team has so far worked with painters, photographers and documentarians including GDN photographer Hussain Almosawi and his wife Mariam Al Arab
(@dilmunicouple on Instagram) as well as artist Ghada Khunji (IG: @gkhunji) to create poignant backdrops for each shoot.
The first-ever Photos à la Chair, featuring artwork by Mohammad Sharkawy (IG: @sharkawym) was held in December 2017 in Adliya.
For the one coming up this weekend, they are collaborating with the Applied Histories (IG: @appliedhistories) team, comprised of Laila Al Shaikh and Abdulla Janahi.
“The decision usually is as simple as someone reaching out to us or us wanting to work with someone new - it is completely casual,” Ali added.
“Each space, artist and community is different, so some events have a huge turnout but quicker interactions with the artwork, others have a smaller crowd but people might stay longer and engage the artwork more actively.”
Planning for each event starts with a coffee with the artist, where the organisers discuss public art and its personal meaning for each artist – a discussion that Ali calls “perhaps as fulfilling as the event itself.”
The simplicity allows the project to take on both an archival dimension as well, keeping a record of the diverse communities of Bahrain and the country’s landscape for posterity.
And for artists like Ghada, who provided creative direction for the sixth Photos à la Chair, it keeps her coming back to see how each session is different.
Ghada’s artwork was of herself. She performed the five stages in a woman’s life— birth, marriage, motherhood, death and resurrection. The performance piece was based on the Last Supper theme, which she called The Last Sufrah. Her backdrop was the burial mounds in A’ali.
“It was hugely successful and very different to what we usually see in Bahrain,” she added. “That is also why it is so special. Photos à la Chair gives the artist an opportunity to think outside the box.”
For details, follow @photosalachair on Instagram
