| Four years ago, I grew increasingly interested in street photography, in order to probe the meaning of cities as a general entity. I would try to explore surfaces and textures of cities within the context of global urbanism, in which displays of consumption and spectacle define everyday happenings through different mediums, such as graffiti art. I would try to probe the urban context of cities, commonalities, the everyday, and what is sometimes critically called “power of the ordinary.” I printed my photographs on thin paper, and pasted them un-mounted on the wall in reference to posters in the street. I tried to draw attention to the value of this kind of ephemeral existence and the various ways people react to this kind of transitory, public surface. |  |
Osama Dawod
Four years ago, I grew increasingly interested in street photography, in order to probe the meaning of cities as a general entity. I would try to explore surfaces and textures of cities within the context of global urbanism, in which displays of consumption and spectacle define everyday happenings through different mediums, such as graffiti art. I would try to probe the urban context of cities, commonalities, the everyday, and what is sometimes critically called “power of the ordinary.” I printed my photographs on thin paper, and pasted them un-mounted on the wall in reference to posters in the street. I tried to draw attention to the value of this kind of ephemeral existence and the various ways people react to this kind of transitory, public surface. The gallery is meant to relay occurrences in the street context as people walk by a building blindly, some people rip the posters down while others write on them. The lifespan of a poster is dependent on the context in which it is placed, torn, ripped, and censored.
My attention was turned to Rosetta, Egypt in 2007. The northern coast of Egypt has seen aggressive coastal erosion due to a decrease in sediment from the Nile and the force of local currents and waves. Gradually rising sea levels, which many believe are caused by global climate change, have further hurt the fishing and farming industries. These environmental changes are affecting the town of Rosetta, where residents have long depended upon the sea and the land for their livelihoods. Many unemployed villagers migrate to other countries in search of work. For my photo story, I spoke with several men who left, only to find themselves back home again and unemployed. The typical pattern among the (mainly young) would-be environmental and economic migrants is to travel first to nearby Libya, and then attempt to sail in motorized rubber boats to islands off the coast of Italy. There, many are turned away and sent back to Egypt by the Italian immigration authorities, their dream of a better life in Europe left unfulfilled. They and the others who have stayed behind now spend most of their time in cafés chatting with older residents about the better days of the past. I hope that my photos of these people, who feel trapped by their situation, would capture the impact that global climate change has had on their lives.
Last year the experience of living outside a familiar environment made me aware of my ignorance of other people, objects, and situations. I am amazed by how much I do not understand or know, versus choosing to not understand or want to know, and I find that I am not alone. My work is about a re-introduction of cultural, social, and religious symbols and issues into unconventional contexts. I present the viewer with objects and signs “unwelcome” to the familiar eye. A realization and/or rejection of being out of place confronts the spectator to notice and conform to the unfamiliar.
