Yesterday evening, the Qatar Photography Center, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, launched the new art exhibition (Beyond the Borders…Maasai Mara), with the participation of six Qatari photographers, namely: Ali Saif Al-Din, Jassim Al-Buainain, Ahmed Al-Fadalah, Ali Al-Shamsi, Muhammad Al-Shaabi, and Abdullah. The muezzin, they completed approximately 48 artistic works, which reflected the aesthetics of wildlife in Kenya in unconventional methods, and during which the photographers told stories about wildlife, the stories also reflected the diversity and aesthetics of nature there. Mr. Abdullah Al-Musleh, Director of the Qatar Photography Center, expressed his happiness at holding this exhibition and the efforts of the photographers in achieving these works. He said: The exhibition includes works by about six Qatari artists, and that their works were the result of a trip they took to the Masai Mara reserve in Kenya, where the works included in the exhibition reflected the wildlife there of all kinds, from feral animals to domestic ones, which makes it a diverse exhibition.
He attributed the Center’s holding of such exhibitions to its keenness to support photographers and highlight their skills in the field of photography, as the Center always works to support photographers and encourage them to take such pictures, to highlight their capabilities in the field of photography, whether these pictures are from outside Qatar, or from inside it. With the aim of enriching the photography scene at the local level.
Photographer Ali Saif Al-Din described the exhibition as the first in a series of exhibitions (Beyond Borders), which is concerned with highlighting images and stories from regions outside the borders of Qatar and the boundaries of places familiar to people. He said: The exhibition includes works by participating Qatari photographers, who were united by their love of adventure and photographing wildlife in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, and that they did not have any friendly relationship before this safari.
Saif Al-Din added that the lenses of photographers embodied the aesthetics and beauty of this wild world in innovative and different ways, and that the visitor to the exhibition will discover shots that tell stories of wildlife, which enchant the eyes, and reflect the beauty and diversity of nature.
He invited the public to visit the exhibition, contemplate this wild world and enjoy the magical moments (it is an opportunity to discover the beauty of wildlife and its wonderful stories). Expressing his hope that you will find inspiration and admiration in the beauty of nature in these photos.
As for photographer Jassim Al-Buainain, he attributed the idea of holding the exhibition to embodying the photography hobby of Qatari photographers, and displaying their joint works in a photography exhibition. Al-Buainain said: The exhibition comes to embody the aesthetics of wildlife in Kenya and everything in it.
He continued: This is where the exhibition comes from, to reflect to the public what is beyond borders, by informing them of the beauty of Kenya’s wildlife and the diverse animals it contains, highlighting their way of living, and presenting them to the public in an artistic and aesthetic way, which in turn develops the public’s artistic taste.