It wouldn’t be wrong to call Lomography the ultimate democratic movement in arts. With a slogan that reads– ‘Don’t think, just shoot’, Lomography emphasises on a light-hearted approach to photography that is spontaneous and bereft of any contrived technical perfection. The low-fidelity cameras have spawned Lomography societies in major cities around the world and enthusiastic Lomographers who act as ambassadors to represent their cities.

De51gn spoke to Lomography’s Dubai ambassador, Hind Mezaina and the ever-popular radio personality Siobhan Leyden from 103.8 FM, the organisers of LOMOment exhibition at the on-going Creek Art Fair (CAF).

The exhibition outside The Jam Jar House in the alleyways of Bastakiya captures beautiful nature-inspired moments to celebrate Earth Hour today which is being observed worldwide and being supported by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to create environmental awareness.

Siobhan Leyden (left), Hind Mezaina (right)

We met Mezaina and Leyden, one afternoon in the salubrious surroundings of the XVA Gallery courtyard, that’s become a favourite hangout of the city’s culture vultures.

The very vivacious Mezaina, who’s half Emirati, half Egyptian, contributes Lomography features to Soura magazine. She discovered her interest in Lomography while picking up a Lomo camera as a present for someone else. Here’s what she has to say about Lomography and what it means to be its ambassador in Dubai.

Hind Mezaina– “I love photography and when I came across a Lomo camera, I realised that despite so low-brow, it produces some unique and interesting results. A while ago, I contacted the society HQ in Vienna and asked them whether I could become the Dubai ambassador since the position was vacant. As the Ambassador of the Lomography Society of Dubai, it means organising Lomography events and exhibitions, promoting it here to enthusiasts and others who are interested but don’t know how and where to begin. It’s basically a platform for like-minded people with an interest in Lomography to come together and share their knowledge, tips and the passion.

I organised an exhibition last year at The Jam Jar gallery which was titled ‘Hot in the City’ since it was held during summer. It included showing a 40 minute documentary about Lomography that gave viewers an insight into this particular form of photography and its popularity world-wide. Then in September last year, I participated at the Lomography Congress held in London at the Trafalgar Square, coinciding with the London Design Festival. Lomography enthusiasts came to London from all around the world– it is such a close-knit and international community that it felt really amazing to be there and to showcase Dubai. The community here is not as massive as say in Japan, Hong Kong or Europe but it’s catching on.

In fact I’m working on an exhibition to promote the Diana+ Camera that had such a cult movement in the initial days, and is being brought back to life and re-launched. The entire community around the world is quite enthusiastic about it. So I feel it’ll be a good topic to document and there will be forums and workshops, which will be a very interactive exercise.

You would be surprised to know that contrary to popular belief, the Diana+ and Holga cameras are not from Russia, but from Hong Kong. Later, Diana+ became a popular give-away with magazines such as Readers’ Digest in the US, who would put their own brand on the camera. The lo-fi camera that’s so simple and basic but produces some very interesting results is now a highly-coveted collectible among Lomography connoisseurs.

Lomography is a very democratic and inclusive ‘movement’ and it’s totally untrue that we are an ‘underground’ society and that we have our own secret greetings. You’ll find Lomography practitioners range from teenagers to people their 60s and 70s.”

Siobhan Leyden, the host of Siobhan Live (12-2 pm every weekday) on the popular radio channel Dubai Eye, discusses diverse topics of interest ranging from art and architecture to latest gadgets and even de-stressing therapies.

Siobhan– “I wanted to incorporate the green, environmental theme into my programme, to celebrate the Earth Hour. Hind and I spoke to each other and both of us expressed an interest in doing something that would bring Lomography and nature together. We had to think of doing it fairly quickly with limited resources and time and also a theme that would fit in with the Creek Art Fair and that’s how the LOMOment installation came together.

The installation that displays 120 pictures taken by Lomographers from around the world, has attracted many people who stop by to look at the flying picture postcards that has a description of where the picture was taken by the name of the photographer. We wanted the message to be very subliminal and aesthetically appealing. What’s amazing is the number of people who sent in their entries at a very short notice and with great zeal.

All the pictures show nature at its best. The moments are, even though clichéd such as a sunset or flowers and birds, but that’s what the whole exercise is about. Capturing beautiful moments that we see around us, but don’t really stop to appreciate it as often as we should. It’s a very subtle message. Environmental awareness is a collective international effort and what happens in one part of the world affects the rest too. There are no isolated theories anymore and that’s what the LOMOment installation at CAF reflects.”

The CAF runs until March 31 from 10am-7 pm.

with inputs from Hisham Youssef (President of aaUAE)

Hind Mezaina, Dubai’s Lomography ambassador has sent us some stunning images that will be part of a Lomography exhibition at the Creek Art Fair (CAF) in Bastakiya, starting tomorrow. We’ll be checking it out for sure and bring you a closer look at one of the most interesting and artistic photography techniques. The exhibition runs outside house no. 118 (The Jam Jar gallery) at CAF, Bastakiya from March 23-31, 2008.  

   Rem Koolhaas, the prolific architect and author enthralled audiences at a talk session organised in the salubrious surroundings of the XVA Gallery in Bastakiya. One of the events at the on-going Creek Art Fair in Bastakiya, it would be an understatement to say the talk was well-attended. Koolhaas spoke to a packed audience including architects, designers, artists, journalists and cultural glitterati who lounged on bean bags. The Pritzker Prize winning architect who’s working on a number of projects in the UAE including the Porsche Design Towers in Dubai and two projects in Ras Al Khaimah– a convention centre and an eco-friendly mountain resort, has launched his second project in Dubai which was the topic of the evening.  The latest project is the Dubai Waterfront project–  a massive development spanning 1.5 billion square foot that would simulate the density of Manhattan on an artificial island just off the Persian Gulf. Building on the publication Koolhaas launched in 2007 with XVA managing directors Mitra Khoubrou and Daniel Camara, the architect also shared his impressions on the rapid development of Dubai and its urban experiments– a phrase Koolhaas is particularly fond of. A few snap shots of the intellectually stimulating evening above.  

Nanine Linning, Marcel Wanders and Joakim de Rham

Experimental photography by New York-based Turkish photographer Pinar Yolacan. The woman pictured here is wearing animal stomach. This is part of the exhibition curated by Alef magazine’s art editor Ana Finel Honigman.

Artwork by Jonathan Gent

Art intelligentsia of Dubai at CAF

I’ve just returned after spending a glorious art-filled evening at the Creek Art Fair at Bastakiya, organised by the super cool team at the XVA gallery. The intriguing alleyways of the Bastakiya came abuzz with art exhibitions, installations, cultural performances and the artsy glitterati of Dubai who discussed everything from Andy Warhol to Farhad Moshiri. 

Star attraction at the event was famous Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, who along with girlfriend, award-winning choreographer Nanine Linning, soaked in the sights and sounds of the highly-charged event. Familiar faces included Patricia Millns, Mitra Khoubrou, Joakhim de Rham, Mona Hauser, Daniel, Zayan Gandour, Alia Fattouh and Laura Trelford.

While the majority of artworks are by Middle Eastern  artists, there are works by British, South African and Turkish artists too. Some installations including works by Halim Al Karim, Pinar Yolacan, Hilda Hiary, Jonathan Gent and Fereydoun Ave that are particularly impressive. 

The event runs until March 31st from 10 am to 7 pm everyday at Bastakiya. It’s one not to be missed! Park at the creek and walk down the road for about 200 metres. De51gn be bringing you daily updates on the on-going exhibitions and participating artists. Keep reading.

                                                                 Dubai’s avant-garde art destination 

XVA Gallery at Bastakiya has lined up an impressive array of events for the Creek Art Fair (CAF) that will run from March 15-31, 2008 in the Bastakiya area. Participants include Dubai’s well-known galleries such as The Third Line, The Jam Jar, traffic, XVA, B21 Gallery and Total Art Gallery to name a few. International names include Philippe De Pury and Company from New York.  On Sunday, March 16, renowned Dutch architect will be speaking at an event at CAF titled ‘Dubai by Rem Koolhaas’. There will be other interesting events and sessions happening throughout the fair that coincides with Art Dubai that runs from March 19-22 at the Madinat Jumeirah.  Stay tuned for regular updates and interviews.