(click to enlarge)

(Light Upon Light 2010)

click to enlarge.

by Yasser Alwan

People, the subject of Alwan’s photographs, come with complex and seasoned faces which give texture to the photographs. They are mostly placed in the center of the frames, and the depth of field is often very shallow in Alwan’s work. These give the photographs a sense of formality. Alwan’s subjects are however informal; there are no studio shots, and the subjects  appear inside their social context. They are aware of being photographed. They look right into the lens. Some are glad to be photographed: Umm Reda and the Incense Man, for instance. Some are puzzled, and bear a question in their penetrating looks: the boy on the cover of the book, for instance (the photo above). The boy clearly communicates his question, hence reaching beyond being just an object to be photographed by Alwan. So are the Odd jobber (no. 3), and Ahmed Yehia (no. 29). In one way or another, people in Alwan’s photos talk to us. This affirms their individuality and dignity, despite the apparent hardship of the life that Alwan depicts.

A very catchy photo in the collection is Geziret Dar al-Salaam (no. 16). Alwan seems to have attracted everyone’s attention in this photograph: the boy selling balloons in the center of the frame is looking at Alwan, so is the boy behind the balloons, and the man in front of the shop. There is however a little girl of age 4 or 5, who is trying to talk to the balloon boy, perhaps wanting to buy a balloon. The girl is left out of the “scene” that Alwan created there. She has not seen Alwan. She is not immediately visible in the photo, despite her impatient eyes and inquiring fingers. Alwan’s subjects are indeed male workers. Except for Umm Reda, the vegetable seller, women who appear in Alwan’s photos appear in the background. A male subject always dominates the frame, for instance in Ataba Square (no. 24), and in Al Hussein after Friday prayers (no. 19).

The selection of the plates for the book seems to be rather careless. Some plates (no. 32 and 44 for example) are dull and unsharp. There is also no particular order in which the photos are assorted in the book. They could have been classified chronologically, geographically, or even based on their themes. The preface to the book is written by Nadje Al-Ali, and John Molyneux has written the introduction. Alwan himself gives an account of his project of photographing Egyptian working people. Molyneux’s introduction is rather off the topic, trying to cast Alwan’s work into Marx’s theories. He engages in an imaginary discussion with Orwell and Brecht, and gets entirely carried away.

Yasser Alwan, by Mai Shaheen

Al-Ali and Alwan have an anti-orientalist perception of the work. Alwan defines his photography in contrast to the photographs of Egyptian people made by the “others”: tourists, journalists, and the orientalists. Despite Al-Ali and Alwan’s rhetoric, they do not say much to “the oriental”. Their main concern appears to be Arab’s representation in the Western media. The title of the book indeed suggests that Alwan offers his subjects the “liberty to appear”. But appear where? Weren’t these people “appearing” there before Alwan came around? Would they “disappear” after Alwan goes away?