Najm (left) and Asmar (right). Studio Shehrazade, Saida, Lebanon, 1950s. Hashem el Madani 2007
Dimensions: image: 191 x 290 mm
Copyright: © Akram Zaatari, courtesy Hashem el Madani and Arab Image Foundation, Beirut | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: This photograph, titled "Najm (left) and Asmar (right)," comes from Studio Shehrazade in Saida, Lebanon, taken in the 1950s. It's part of Akram Zaatari's collection of works by Hashem el Madani. Editor: Oh, wow. It's like a silent movie still. There's something both tender and defiant in their gaze. The hats, the flowers… it feels like a story waiting to burst out. Curator: Zaatari's larger project examines Madani’s work within a framework of queer representation in mid-century Lebanon, considering the studio's role as a space where gender and social norms could be playfully subverted. The deliberate staging is critical here. Editor: Right? It’s almost dreamlike. They’re playing with expectations, maybe even pushing against them. You can feel this hum of quiet rebellion. I wonder what the rest of their lives were like. Curator: Exactly. The image prompts questions about visibility, identity, and the complexities of living authentically in a specific time and place. What does it mean for us to look at them today? Editor: It’s a reminder that even in the past, people found ways to express themselves, to love, to be seen, despite the restrictions. I keep thinking about that vase of flowers – this small act of beauty and resistance. Curator: It's a potent reminder of the layers embedded in seemingly simple photographs. Editor: Indeed. I feel like I've stumbled upon a precious, whispered secret.
Comments
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/zaatari-najm-left-and-asmar-right-studio-shehrazade-saida-lebanon-1950s-hashem-el-madani-p79496
Join the conversation
Join millions of artists and users on Artera today and experience the ultimate creative platform.
This work is one of a series of black and white silver gelatin photographs of varying sizes that are collectively titled Objects of study/The archive of studio Shehrazade/Hashem el Madani/Studio Practices. All of the photographs were taken by the Lebanese commercial photographer Hashem el Madani between 1948 and 1982 and compiled into the present group, 117 of which are in Tate’s collection, by the Lebanese artist Akram Zaatari. All of the photographs include people, either alone, in pairs or in small groups, and most were taken in Madani’s studio, although some were shot outside and in his subjects’ homes. The series features men and women and covers a wide age range from babies to elderly people. Almost all of the sitters assume poses deliberately for the camera, sometimes accompanied by props or costumes, and most gaze directly towards the lens. Many of the pictures show subjects interacting in various ways, including embracing, kissing and acting out scenes, such as a mock wrestling match. The photographs are mostly tightly cropped, with the sitter or sitters filling most of the frame, although in some cases the figures are positioned further away from the camera, for instance when shown sitting at a table or standing behind a chair. The photographs tend to have sparse backgrounds, often dominated by a blank posterior wall. They are mounted on white paper, displayed in plain white frames and signed on the back by Madani. Many of them have been organised into categories by Zaatari – such as a group featuring men dressed as Syrian resistance fighters and a collection depicting newly married couples – while the rest are presented individually. Zaatari has stated that although he prefers these groups to be displayed together, this is not a requirement (Akram Zaatari, email to Rachel Taylor, 24 April 2008, Tate Acquisition file).
CollectMore like this
