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Mariam Nihal
Saudi Gazette
Ali Al Sharji, a 22-year-old Omani conceptual artist, recently showcased his work in Jeddah with the help of Loud Art.
With seven years of experience in photography, his works contemplate the integration of culture with changing times. Each picture tells a story, whether it is captured in wilderness or otherwise with a modern twist and a captivating subject in focus. His pictures are a depiction of the status quo in the Arab region. How he got into it is another story, the photographer narrated.
“I remember when I was 12 years old I used to write poetry a lot, to the point where I started writing down poems where I described the day I’m might die. I remember the death poems were so deep and gave me goosebumps. Just from reading my own words over and over again,” Sharji told Saudi Gazette.
“I never shared any of them with anyone except an old friend from school and my sister. These two in particular I was comfortable sharing my ideas and thoughts with. I cried once from how scary, beautiful, insane, and deep my thoughts were. So I thought why not share my emotions and thoughts with the world but through something else rather than poetry. And that is when I found my way through photography.”
Sharji portrays various themes for a concept by implementing different elements together in a photograph.
“I usually love to combine two things that are not related to each other to grab attention but I make sure that the meaning behind each and every piece is strong.
I usually take photos only when I have a concept that I would like to produce.”
Sharji’s work is mostly contemporary, sometimes arabesque. It is initiated by despair and completed only when he is devastated and desperately satisfied.
“I write when I am in so much pain, I drop the pen when the pain fades away, and that is when I would sketch what I have wrote and transform it from the image in my head. After that is when I will actually take the picture, and if the picture does not come out the same way I sketched, I would re-do the shoot again for several times till I am satisfied.”
Sharji said each and every picture has a story behind it. “Describing my art pieces in simple words is like going to the movie theater to watch a movie that you did not plan on watching but ended up liking.” Even though occasionally he does take part in corporate based projects he’s not particularly fond of the idea.
At the moment he is focusing on developing and executing ideas for 2016.
Website http://brilliantmindzphotography.weebly.com
Instagram @brilliantmindzphotography
