The Light in Between

The Light in Between is a new collaborative exhibition between artist Mohammed Kazem and poet Adel Khozam. An installation of 53 paper-based works that uses the interplay of poetry and light to suggest a glimpse into the brief, fleeting moments of our daily lives. It’s currently being exhibited at the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi.

I was commissioned to create a high resolution archive of the artworks and a few more things that they needed to promote the show.

If you know me at all, you know photography of all kinds is just an excuse for me to take people home with me via portraiture, so even though it was not part of the brief, It was always going to happen. I had to photograph Mohammed Kazem at work.

Having worked with him before, I knew what his process is like and the size of the works made my art documentation process straightforward. My challenge with this project was to interpret the work artistically to promote the show and to find a way tell a story about the collaboration between the artist and the poet.

When I met Adel I found a kindred spirit, a man that lives in the service of art. His medium is poetry. In a language I can’t understand, yet I found a way to still truly see him and his way of expression. He dug up some of his work translated into Spanish and that helped me find a way in. He spoke to me about light.

I found a way to play with my lights with their collaborative work, using strobes, torches and sunlight as paintbrushes to pull out texture and words that stood out to me. It was a joyful and experimental shoot, along with the epic team from The Cultural Foundation helping me move through all 53 pieces of artwork at an extraordinary pace.

Here are just some of my favorite images.

I filmed Mohammed making adding final touches before we started our documentation.

It took me back to 2014 when I first met Mohammad and discovered his unique method of scratching his paper. I found it to be so hypnotic to watch. I was suddenly back there again, just listening to the rhythms of the scratches, and I just get closer and closer till all I can see is strands of frayed paper being scratched meticulously by giant metal scissors. Mohammed Kazem reminded me that I was the first person who managed to capture his techniques and methods back in 2014, before that no one knew how he even made his works. You can check out that video here !

I had one piece of the puzzle figured out, but to find a way to connect with the poetry was going to be challenging as a non arabic speaker. I booked a meeting with the poet where it could be just him and I.

He invited me into his lovely home and I just got to know him a bit. I filmed him orating some of his favorite poems from the collaboration and just soaked up his process. Writers are different from photographers, but not really. I saw my future. A quiet life of creating.

Not only did Adel end up giving me the visuals I was looking for, he also found a wonderful way to connect with me by writing me an original poem ! A poem about me ! Now since I can’t understand Arabic but I can pick out words sometimes, I know this is about my relationship to light. I really hope to get it officially translated for myself some day. Here it is below.

If you know what it says up there, feel free to give your translation in the comments below !

Here is a sample of the artworks I photographed for archival storage,future catalogues and exhibition promotion.. I shot 53 pieces, but I’ll just share my favorite ones.

A month or so after we wrapped up the project, I found myself in Abu Dhabi and rushed over to the Cultural Foundation to see the show for myself. I was just floored with the beautiful way the room complimented the work, with stunning views from the windows and best of all, the short film that I made for them was being shown in such a gorgeous and intelligent way by the curator, framing the hard work of the artists in a spectacular way. I’ve been making films for many years now, and this is the first time one of my films has stopped me dead in it’s tracks with the way it was presented. Check out the photographs of the show below !

I absolutely adore this film I made, because I adore the people in them.

I apologize for no subtitles, but since it was made for an arab audience it did not need captioning. I hope to be able to get official captions to add later on once the poems are translated into english.

Would love to know your thoughts about the film !

For the curious folk, here’s some behind the scenes shots of the archiving and artistic photography. Hanging out and working with the artists and the team from The Cultural Foundation was a joyful way to process this project for me - It was a sharp, focused and professional experience.

The exhibition is until the 26th of August, so I do hope you can catch it in person !