Basically Human: Conditional Identities/Conditional Spaces

The Empty Quarter presents "Basically Human: Conditional Identities/Conditional Spaces," a photography exhibition organized with the American University in Dubai (AUD), which brings together the work of students and recent graduates from the two institutions. The exhibition features the work of 11 emerging photographers from the BFA Photography Department and MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department at The School of Visual Arts( New York) and 16 emerging photographers from the Photography Program at AUD. The selected works explore constructions of identity and examine issues of geography, class, ethnicity, religion and gender.

BFA Photography Department Chair and co-curator Stephen Frailey remarked, "We are always interested in engaging in global discourse about contemporary photography. We're delighted to present the work of these young photographers from the Middle East, integrated with work from the SVA community, creating a compelling cross-cultural conversation."

"Photography has become the most widely ‘spoken' as well as the most widely recognized of the global languages," explains co-curator Roberto Lopardo, chair of the Visual Communication Department at the American University in Dubai. "Photography crosses borders without thought for the fact that it is foreign. This allows photography to take on a privileged place in societal discourse."

Speaking of the Middle Eastern artists who hail from many areas of the region, Lopardo says, "These young men and women bring to the fore the profound issues and questions which comprise their daily search for a reinvented identity that attempts to escape the labels inflicted on it by both East and West. As one walks by the various photos on display, a somehow helpless yet triumphant rebellion unravels."

Raji Al-Sharif (Saudi Arabia, b.1984) uses lyrical and emotive imagery to evoke selected phrases of Islamic verse.

Sami Al-Turki (Saudi Arabia, b.1984) documents individual journeys?beginning with that of a man he encountered in Dubai's rough, industrial center.

Aya Atoui (Lebanon, b.1989) creates images that capture the secret lives and relationships of the outlandish characters of her imagination.

Mona Ayyash (Palestine, b.1987) looks at the information that can be gleaned from images viewed in tandem, through her series showing men holding mirrors.

Cima Azzam (Palestine, b.1986) considers the relationship between sculpture and photography in her work, which explores how found objects interact with their environment.

Andrew Carlson (United States, b. 1987) depicts domestic interiors whose uncanny symmetry and alignments appear to be almost preternatural, and where average rooms are transformed into cubistic geometry.

Kelly Clark (United States, b. 1984) presents images of seemingly nondescript suburban American homes which are accompanied by text recounting the violent crimes which took place in each.

Alex Cordier (United Kingdom, b.1981) tackles deeply personal experiences with his work, which addresses religion, memory and loss.

Manal Elias (Syria, b.1987) uses static objects positioned in duality to portray aspects of human competition.

Nadia Hamidi (Libya/United Kingdom, b.1987) creates images that bridge reality and fantasy?seeking to capture a moment between the world as it is, and as it could be.

Kyle Ganson (United States, b. 1987) creates performative, time-based installations that examine perceptions of gender and definitions of masculinity.

Christopher Grodzki (United States, b.1985) makes self-portraits that both mimic and subvert vernacular, snapshot photography.

Scott Houston (Scotland, b.1968) profiles life in East Liverpool, Ohio, a town that has become the victim of post-industrial decline.

Maryam Jalali (Iran, b.1984) examines the politics of identity and the ways in which they are perceived in different places.

Ina Jang presents an unsettling and antiseptic world in which people interacting with paper objects appear to be emotionally neutralized and void of individual identities.

James Thomas Josephs (United States, b.1987) explores the dissonance that exists between the manufactured spectacle and the actuality of death, and raises intriguing questions about burial customs.

Arezu Karoobi (Iran, b.1983) uses photography as a way to examine the experiences of the human body and the physical dissolutions of aging.

Nicola Kast (Germany, b. 1982) considers German national identity through self-portraiture that employs social stereotypes and historical tropes.

Michelle Labriola (United States, b.1987) examines female identity through a series of self portraits that reference social roles and issues of power relations.

Elena Lukiyanchuk (Russia, b.1985) captures the surreal and even magical elements of the city of Dubai through a series of photographs that reference Alice in Wonderland.

Marina Lukiyanchuk (Russia, b.1985) uses portraiture to capture expressive moments that are both unique to an individual and yet somehow timeless.

Hazem Mahdi (Egypt, b.1986) deals with real and imaginative memory, as he explores recollections from childhood through his imagery.

Philip Moy (United States, b.1985) fuses observed situations with his own invented characters: the result is a hyper-real style for which it can be difficult to locate the threshold separating the authentic from the simulacral.

Michelle Peric (Argentina, b.1988) creates images of people hovering above the ground -playing with expectations of the proper places these people belong, as well as ideas about displacement.

Jing Quek (Singapore, b.1983) depicts various communities that are frequently overlooked through lighthearted, highly-stylized compositions which belie serious questions about the impact of capitalism and globalization.

Altamash Urooj (Pakistan/Venezula, b.1984) explores themes of growth, transformation and metamorphosis through his conceptually-based work.

Angelica Yassine (Lebanon/Phillipines, b.1985) captures the extended lines found in the open spaces of the desert, which she juxtaposes with the placement of human bodies engaged in movement and performance.

"Basically Human: Conditional Identites/Conditional Spaces" will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue, featuring an introduction by Stephen Frailey, an interview with Roberto Lopardo, and essay text by BFA Photography Department faculty member Seth Greenwald and J.R. Osborne, assistant professor of art history at the American University in Dubai.

In conjunction with the opening of the exhibition, there will be a screening of the film Transit Dubai (dir. Ineke Smits, 2008). The film explores many facets of life within the city, as seen from the vantage point of four photography students, including Sami Al-Turki and Arezu Karoobi, whose work is part of the exhibition. A panel discussion will follow the film, featuring a conversation between SVA and AUD artists Nicola Kast, Philip Moy, Kyle Ganson, Mona Ayyash, Sami Al-Turki and Cima Azzam, moderated by Seth Greenwald and Roberto Lopardo. Both events will take place at SVA, 209 East 23 Street, New York City.

The BFA Photography Department at SVA offers students a full range of options in the study of photography: commercial, fine art, fashion and documentary. The department is equipped with state-of-the-art technical facilities; a faculty of nearly 100 members, including not only wor king photographers but photo editors, critics, publishers and photography dealers; and a curriculum that integrates photographic genres, identities and ambitions. SVA's diversity in curriculum and the faculty's professional experience offer students the freedom and support to explore different directions in photography.

Basically Human: Conditional Identities/Conditional Spaces

Künstler: Alex Cordier, Altamash Urooj, Angelica Yassine, Aya Atoui, Cima Azzam, Elena Lukiyanchuk, Manal Elias, Marina Lukiyanchuk, Michelle Peric, Mona Ayyash, Nadia Hamidi, Raji Al Sharif, Sami Al Turki, Walid Aktouf