Gulf Photo Plus (GPP) has provided photography enthusiasts a unique opportunity to showcase their work in “Day & Night”, a community exhibition. GPP invited amateur and professional photographers from the UAE and around the world to submit images based on the theme of “Day” or “Night”, and its experts have selected over 40 photographs for the exhibition. The compelling images span a spectrum of genres, from landscape and fine art to portraiture and abstract work.
The photographers have interpreted the theme in myriad ways. Every image tells a different story. For instance, Akash Ghai’s colourful picture conveys the collective energy and enthusiasm of the crowd at a concert at Penn State University. Whereas “The Cigarette Card Collector”, by Bob Davies, captures the intense concentration of an old man as he stays up late into the night carefully examining his collection by candle light.
Dubai residents will enjoy Francis Cox’s “Dubai Marina at Full Speed”, which effectively conveys the buzz in the area, as well as Daniel Cheong’s “Dubai Galactica”, which offers a fresh perspective of the much photographed Burj Khalifa.
Gerald Donovan has beautifully combined day and night in his composite picture showing Downtown Dubai at different times during the day and night; while Mykolas Juodele embraces the mystique and drama of a dark, rainy night in his grainy photograph titled “Noir”.
Other themes and moods explored by the photographers range from the grace and beauty of horses to the hopes and dreams of women; and from the tense atmosphere during a medical emergency to the serenity of a church in Iceland.
“GPP is an organisation dedicated to furthering the art and science of photography through education, exhibitions and various other events. This show puts the spotlight on all the photography enthusiasts who have connected with us through our in-house events or online,” says Miranda McKee, GPP gallery manager.
“It is an opportunity for us to reach out to the local and international community of photographers and to encourage them, while also bringing inspiring and unique images from around the globe for our gallery visitors to enjoy. The response to our first community exhibition last year was overwhelming, and it has been the same this year. We chose an open theme that offers a lot of scope for creativity, and imposed no restrictions in terms of the kind of camera used or editing of the images. And we are happy to share these high quality and diverse works with the public,” she adds.
Another GPP initiative to promote photographic art is the GPP Limited collection launched in May 2012. This includes limited edition photographs by regional and international photographers that are available at prices starting at Dh375.
“By offering affordable, high quality, limited edition prints we are giving people an opportunity to own a picture they love, and support an artist they believe in, without spending a fortune. At the same time we are giving photographers a platform for reaching out to a fast expanding community of art lovers and collectors,” McKee says.
“The photographs we select for this collection are quirky, creative ‘thinking images’ that inspire and ignite the imagination of viewers and give them something to think about. Each image has an interesting story that we share on our website alongside the picture. We make only 50 editions of each image, and all images in the collection are the same price whether it is taken by a legendary photographer such as Gregory Heisler, who has shot more covers for Time magazine than any other photographer, or by an emerging young artist such as Sara Naim.
“Every image is printed on 100 per cent cotton fibre, archival quality fine art paper, and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the artist,” she adds.
The entire collection, including information about the artist and work, is displayed at www.gulfphotoplus/limited. The works can be purchased online or at the gallery. “The collection is expanding and we are always open to new submissions, which can be made online at www.gulfphotoplus.com/onview/submit,” McKee says.
– Day & Night will run at Gulf Photo Plus until July 26
Ramadan ‘N’ Art
Art Couture gallery’s exhibition, “Ramadan ‘N’ Art”, features artworks inspired by Ramadan and its spirit of giving, sharing and reflection. The group exhibition is showcasing works by Dubai based artists of various nationalities, including Palestinian Ayham Hammad, Beena Sameul and Aarti Bahl from India, British artist Terry Onanian and Canadian Reta Richards. The artworks range from Hammad’s calligraphic paintings to Bahl’s meditative abstract works done in a tranquil palette of blues and greens. And from woven rug designs to Onanian’s signature mixed media relief works inspired by the strata, textures and colours of Hatta and the Hajjar mountains.
The exhibition will run at Art Couture at Al Badia Golf Club, InterContinental, Dubai Festival City until July 24.
–Jyoti Kalsi is an arts enthusiast based in Dubai.
