What do these pictures mean to you?

Dubai

The photography community in the UAE is extremely strong and widespread. And we try and present a diverse selection of work as often as possible. However, our focus has always been honest visual journalism and have never accepted work that might have been enhanced using computer software.

Today we make an exception for the submissions of a young female conceptual photographer, who is pushing the boundaries using those very same tools. But, in this case it is being used as an obvious part of the art, which makes it an honest representation, along with adding value to tell a story.

Living in the generation where everyone is looking for innovative ideas and unique perspectives the comparatively new idea of conceptual photography is gaining momentum in our part of the world.

Conceptual photography focuses on illustrating an idea, and the concept is given precedence over the physical subjects present. Usually photographers create pictures based on their personal notion of instances in life. However, the photograph can be interpreted differently by different people.

Twenty-year-old Pakistani national Zoya Tariq has been practising conceptual photography over the past two years. She said: “I’ve been using my camera for almost four years. In February 2012, I was introduced to conceptual photography in one of my classes, as I am a media science student. It caught my attention. I started with basic ideas and took self-portraits to achieve them. But, over a period of time, this is all I wanted to do. I’m a person who’s not very good with words, so I try to put the thoughts and emotions into my photographs.”

Tariq assigned her self a project that she called the ‘365 Project’, wherein she decided to develop one picture every day. She said: “I would take a picture every day and sometimes spend up to eight hours editing it. Photoshop has been a best friend as it helps me turn my dreams and imagination to reality.” After all the practice over the years, today Tariq can complete a basic picture in about an hour and the complicated ones take up to six hours. Sometimes she also uses Adobe Lightroom to edit.

The Sharjah resident has learned the art watching other conceptual photographers and their art on the internet. She has no professional training and does not know any other amateur conceptual photographer around her. When asked for captions of pictures she submitted, she said she does not want to caption them because then people would be compelled look at them through her eyes. She said: “I rather let people go wild with their imagination. I create pictures that speak to people and I know without captions, each picture speaks differently to different people.”

Inspiration is not a one-time glory for Tariq. She gets inspired by different things on a daily basis and turns them into conceptual photos. She said: “I get ideas at random times and places, but I carry a small diary to make sure that I take note of every single idea. Sometimes when I am out shooting sometimes I just get on the spot ideas.”

Tariq enjoys the challenges she faces while developing her pictures. But, being a woman and a self-portrait artist she gets a lot of stares when she looks into her camera in public. She said: “It is not easy for a female to go and do things without getting stared at. I go out almost every day to take pictures and let myself go for the best results. Initially I was a little shy, but I have learnt to be brave, look beyond and ignore the things that are stopping me from being me.”

“If I had to say one thing to readers, it is to do just what you love or at least take out time to do it and stop caring about what the world has to say about it. It takes courage but you’ll never find this freedom and happiness in anything else,” she said.