Susanne Niemann: To begin, let’s talk about the obvious. This is your first exhibition featuring black and white images. How did this idea come about?
Farah Al Qasimi: It wasn’t necessarily an idea, I had just been shooting in black-and-white for a long time as part of my everyday photography practice. When it came to conceptualizing this show, I liked the idea that some of the work could have a sense of timelessness to reference the cycles of violence that have been perpetuated across decades by the US in the Arab world.
S.N.: When I think about your work, I think about colors and saturation, exploration and inquiry. Yet black and white has something documentary to it. How did working in B&W influence your experience and approach?
F.A.Q.: I always love working with black-and-white film, because it forces me to pay attention to the light as a subject and the composition of an image in its simplest form - you never know how a photograph is going to turn out until days or weeks later, so it's a practice in trust.
S.N.: I have seen your work at the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi and at C/O in Berlin. Walking into The Third Line in Dubai felt different. Let’s say, there was a lot more space. I particularly liked the small prints and objects taped directly to the wall. How did you select your work? And how did you make these decisions regarding placement and spacing?
F.A.Q.: My work goes through several rounds of editing, and I’m very lucky to have artist friends who help me look at the work and decide how to get the meaning across. The additional images come from researching things in my studio - I have a variety of sources that I pull from when working on a wider project, but I look at them all together to help me understand some of the symbolism that persists across my own work.
S.N.: I’d love to hear about your creative process. Did you create new work specifically for this show? Did some of the moments come naturally and unexpectedly?
F.A.Q.: This is a show that began with wanting to share previous work I made for journalism assignments and then grew into other modes of thinking that I shot new photographs for. A lot of it came intuitively.
S.N.: You have a highly collaborative practice – what does that look like when you work with photography? Is there one work that is especially important to you? Why? Can you guide me through the process of making it? How do you choose your subject?
F.A.Q.: I feel very lucky and at times very frustrated that I have chosen a very social medium. I have anxiety about reaching out to new people and going to new places for my work. In this show, though, there are a lot of incredible people featured in the work – one of them is Yara Ayoob (@yarziezz), a make-up artist and influencer, who I photographed in an early 2000s style khaleeji look. I knew I wanted to work with somebody who embodied the process of re-creating a certain nostalgia, and I was very lucky to find her.
S.N.: Let’s talk about what is happening in the UAE right now. This is a busy time for galleries and artists here. Your opening coincided with Alserkal Art Week, Art Dubai, and other cultural events across the Emirates. How does the current art ecosystem compare to what it was like when you grew up here?
F.A.Q.: I can’t speak to the art ecosystem when I grew up in the Emirates, because I wasn’t very aware of what was happening in the contemporary art world until I left college. I do know that there are more galleries now, and more programs geared towards nurturing young artists, and I’ve been really amazed by the shows that young artists and curators based in the region are working on.
I’ve heard that the show at Bayt Al Mamzar curated by Studio Salasil is fantastic and I look forward to seeing it.
S.N.: And how does it compare to New York? You’re spending your time between Dubai and New York. What does it mean to come back to The Third Line? What do these two places mean to you? How do they influence your work?
F.A.Q.: I can’t compare it to New York because they’re completely different places with different histories, different funding infrastructures, different populations.
I started working with The Third Line 11 years ago. It’s so important to me and so meaningful that they believed in my work when my vision was still young and unrefined. I love seeing what we’ve done together over the last decade.
S.N.: Looking ahead, I heard you are on your way to The Chinati Foundation. What are your plans for your residency, if you want to share?
F.A.Q.: My plans at the Chinati Foundation are to read, watch films, catch up on sleep and exhibition planning, and work on my sewing and drawing. I hope to be reconnected to a studio practice that’s about learning from and trusting the process, being OK with being bad at something for a while - I miss that sense of discovery that comes when you don't owe anyone but yourself anything.
From the Global Art Daily Website
