As the city prepares for the party weekend of the year, a thoughtfully curated exhibition at Sole DXB offers us pause and cause for reflection. In partnership with Gulf Photo Plus, Occupied Pleasures, lensed by award-winning visual journalist, artist, and educator Tanya Habjouqa in 2013, normalises depictions of simple Palestinian past-times despite – and in defiance of – the dire political situation. Curator and Director of the beloved and boundary-pushing Dubai gallery Gulf Photos Plus Mohamed Somji explains why sharing this work with audiences now is more necessary than ever.
GRAZIA: Let’s start with Gulf Photos Plus, a photography centre and gallery that has hosted some of the city’s most thought-provoking and often confronting curations of photography as social and cultural observation. How has your personal practice as a documentary photographer informed the direction of this space?
MS: It has been central to the work we do at Gulf Photo Plus and my intention from the outset was to have a space that elevated the discourse around photography to be more than just about its aesthetic value. The strength of the medium is its power in shaping our understanding of the world and its dynamics. I felt that there were very few spaces in the UAE and the Gulf region that took photography seriously and we wanted to fill that space. I was also frustrated by the disproportionate representation of Western photography and wanted to platform work and about the region.
GRAZIA: We can’t wait to see Occupied Pleasures at Sole DXB. How did you discover Tanya Habjouqa and what drew you to her work?
MS: Tanya and I met 15 years ago at a documentary photography workshop and we have worked together on numerous occasions having curated a few of her exhibitions at GPP and at BredaPhoto. I have always been drawn to her ability to bring a loaded wit and sharpness to her work that help us unpeel the layers of subjects that can be quite complex. It’s a skill few have and one that she uses with great effect especially in covering Palestine.
GRAZIA: How does Tanya’s background in anthropology and political studies shape her photography?
MS: Immensely. Documentary photographers who have a deep understanding and historical context of the regions that they cover are few and far between. Her knowledge and nuanced understanding of Palestine and the region give her an edge in being able to tell a more complete story and one that is rigorous in its telling of the sociopolitical dynamics. She is also acutely aware of how decades of mainstream media depictions of the region do a disservice to the story and her work is a response to those portrayals.
GRAZIA: What spoke to you about the particular images included in your curation?
MS: I chose this selection because I think they give the viewer a fair idea of the crux of Tanya’s work which could be summed up as joy being a vessel for resistance; a resistance to the brutal occupation of Palestine. The images from Gaza are poignant given how we could be forgiven to wonder if those people pictured are still alive and how access to the sea or a freewheeling motorbike ride is something that we can’t even fathom at this stage.
GRAZIA: Why is it important to give Tanya’s work a platform at Sole DXB right now?
MS: With all of us being overwhelmed with the imagery out of Gaza, we felt it was important to flip that narrative and present work that shows the resilience of the people of Palestine and how just existing is a mode of resistance. There are images of joy, life and love – something that we all have to work towards a resumption of and so her work at Sole is a reminder of this Palestinian spirit and resilience.
GRAZIA: What kind of audiences are you hoping to reach with this exhibition at Sole DXB?
MS: Really, anyone who has a curiosity about Palestine would appreciate Tanya’s powerful images and reading the captions of her work will shed light on how challenging life is under occupation and despite of which, people muster the courage and energy to make space for love and for life.
GRAZIA: What conversations are you hoping to start by exhibiting Occupied Pleasures at Sole DXB?
MS: I hope people reflect on these images of daily lives and moments of joy and elation that seem very distant given the events we are seeing unfold today.
GRAZIA: What does Occupied Pleasures share with all the other exhibitions at GPP share?
MS: It is the quintessential GPP exhibition: It is thought provoking and sociopolitical work which is a guiding principle of the work we like to showcase at GPP. The artist is from the region and has lived here most of her life so her work reflects her deep seated knowledge as opposed to a parachute photographer who may not understand the region with nuance. At its time, this work was powerful in its simplicity and flipping the visual narrative that often highlighted Palestinians without agency and in dire situations or as victims and in this work, Tanya subverts this narrative and allows for a wider and more telling interpretation of events in Palestine.
Find Occupied Pleasures at Sole DXB, Dubai Design District on Friday 8 December from 3-11.30pm; and Saturday 9 December and Sunday 10 December from 1.30-11.30pm. Visit sole.digital for tickets.
