About the Show | Audio Guides | Gallery Views | Show Materials| Credits and Acknowledgements
Um Al Naar (Mother of Fire), 2019 (Still)
Digital video, 42 minutes and 7 seconds. Courtesy of the artist.
Artist Statement
Working primarily with photography, video and performance, Farah Al Qasimi examines postcolonial structures of power, gender and taste in the Gulf Arab states. Dividing her time between Dubai and New York, Al Qasimi has integrated her practice as a social critique and observation of the layered aspects of each place indirectly. Through her bold and vibrant photographs, she explores the unspoken social norms and values embedded in a place, a moment or an object. Her thought-provoking images act as an invitation for the viewer to sense the unspoken boundaries that govern the scenes which they catch a glimpse of.
Al Qasimi’s recent works challenge the viewer to consider their own understanding of reality, aspiration, individuality and the reflected image. In series such as ‘Funhouse’, Al Qasimi demonstrates her skill with mise-en-scene in photographs that are richly detailed, evoking a tromp-l’oeil effect, which are at turns delightful, delirious and disturbing. Elsewhere, the artist creates works that confront commonplace notions of figurative photography and portraiture. Her recent commission with Public Art Fund, ‘Back and Forth Disco’, was on view at 100 bus shelters in New York City in 2019–20 and comprised of works offering a distinct representation of a subject without allowing the viewer full access to the person, highlighting the unique qualities that determine individuality and capturing the diverse essence of New York City.
Artist Bio
Farah Al Qasimi (b. 1991, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) (she/her) works with photography, video, music and performance. She has participated in residencies at the Delfina Foundation, London; Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine; and is a recipient of the Art Basel Miami Legacy Purchase Program Prize, the New York NADA Artadia Prize; an Aaron Siskind Individual Photographer’s Fellowship; and the 2020 Capricious Photo Award. Her first monograph, Hello Future, published by Capricious in 2021, was shortlisted for the Aperture/Paris Photo Book of the Year Award.
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