Al-Ahram Weekly | Culture | Questionable moments

"Moments of Life" is the not-so- recherché title of a photography exhibition currently at the Fine Arts Gallery and Studio in Zamalek, an increasingly popular venue among art lovers, writes Rania Khallaf

The gallery was established in 2006 by Russian artist Yelena Alexandrovna Eremicheva, who has recently shown her own works in her an exhibition entitled "My Greek Diary".

The current black and white photography exhibition hosts, among others, works by the well known photographer Jean Claude Aunos. These reflect his infatuation with the Nile, viewed from an unusual perspective, close to the Mounib Bridge. His lens shies away from the images of this popular district, and latches onto the green areas interspersed with buildings then onto the thin line that separates it from the Nile. Elsewhere, a boat afloat on the dark stream against a backdrop of unsightly buildings adds to one's bewilderment: to which side does the viewer belong?

In Aline Faltas's six exhibited photos, we catch glimpses of things hidden, things that the lens has not captured yet. What the photos do capture are some rare moments of a five-year-old boy. In one photo, the half-naked boy takes cautious steps towards something unseen, holding a telephone hand set in one hand, his mouth apparently struggling with words.

Mohamed El-Tamami's frog perched atop a wall, about to leap into endless blackness, adds to the ambiguity of the whole exhibition. Nothing is certain or bright; question marks seem to be the name of the game.

More question marks emerge from a photo by law student Passainte Assem, which features a row of camels standing in silence -- "as if chanting the national anthem," as the photographer wryly puts it. Another fascinating portrait by Assem is a study of the gender ambiguity of Ibrahim, a young camel leader.

Meanwhile, Sara Yehia's portraits of two young Egyptian and Russian girls do not stir any questions. Light and shadow in her portraits might be her one and only skill here. The portraits could be ideal for a fashion magazine, but reveal few "moments of life". Equally dull are the photos by Alena Udovenko, a Ukrainian photographer living in Cairo, which feature banal aspects of life in both Ukraine and Dahab.

"It is not just a gallery; it is, rather, an artistic center where my ideas can be developed and where I also find time to teach art to children", Eremicheva enthuses. She says she cares less about the commercial aspect of her enterprise than for nurturing new talents. She does not have a concrete plan for this year's exhibitions, simply because "creative dreams do not come systematically in my head. Whenever there is a brilliant idea, I give it a space to bloom."

That said, two exhibitions are in the offing. The first is in fact the second round of an international exhibition of artists' notebooks. The second, which will open later this month, entitled "Touches of Art", is tailored for young blind people. The aim of this exhibition is to encourage the interaction between the blind and the world of art. "This project will be followed by other similar ones, depending on the children's reactions and impressions", Eremicheva suggests.