You have only three days to catch Dubai Photo Exhibition in d3 and I urge you to go. The week is packed to the rafters with art exhibitions but this one is the one with the shortest run and perhaps the longest lead time. There are over 800 photographs from around the world, dating from as far back as the 19th century and all the way up to the present day.
The show is so well put together that it is "seamless" as the curator Zelda Chealte puts it and that is testament to the talent of those who have put it together. It is really like a museum, with iconic images such as Maurice Bloomfield's and John Davies's shots of industrial England to Dorothea Lange's wonderful portraits of the Great Depresssion in 1930s America. There is a really strong section from Mexico, which explores surfaces and architecture and is like a fine art show as well as quietly stunning images from Korea. Other stand out booths for me are Germany, which is showing Peter Keetman's wonderful images from the Volkswagen factory in the 1950s and a personal favourite, You Won't Fool the Children of the Revolution from artistic duo Beate Geissler and Oliver Sann - which explores lifeforms in the age of technology.
In the UAE’s section are fascinating images from the collection of the Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum and, perhaps even more impressively, a selection of diverse contemporary works. Ammar Al Attar, who is one of the UAE’s most promising photographers is showing The Dominos series and Moza Al Falasi’s images of the white Arabian horse were particularly stunning in this environment.
I know there is a lot on this week but you really must make time for this one. As Sueraya Shaheen commented as we were viewing the show together yesterday, it is like a Snapchat exhibition, blink and you’ve missed it.
Dubai Photo Exhibition runs until Saturday at d3 Design District. www.dubaiphotoexhibition.ae
* aseaman@thenational.ae
