Egypt's central bank governor meets with China Development Bank head    Egypt, UAE central banks sign currency swap deal    Researchers build and test a framework for achieving climate resilience across diverse fisheries    Genetically engineering associations between plants and nitrogen-fixing microbes could lessen dependence on synthetic fertilizer    Egypt Post invests in Roaderz platform to enhance e-commerce, delivery services    GAFI to grant 45 more golden licences to boost investment    French police arrests 5 people in Piaget jewelry heist    Hend Sabry series Crossroads to air on Shahid in October    Oil prices 27/09/2023    Al-Sisi rejects claims of militarising teachers    Egypt aims to boost private sector's role in economic activity to 65% in medium term: Finance Minister    Net-zero emissions can be reached by 2050 – IEA report    Egypt inks agreement with British council to boost scientific research    Phantom of the Opera heads to Riyadh in October    Trevor Noah to host his largest comedy show in Dubai    Dubai launches new religious tourism initiative    Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia resume talks on GERD in Addis Ababa    Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia resume talks on GERD in Addis Ababa    Egypt, India declare strategic partnership, discuss regional issues    Egyptian minister calls for more funding to face climate change damages    Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan resume Nile dam talks    Egypt's Environment Minister calls for more funding to address climate change losses, damages    Children dying in Sudan amid healthcare system collapse    Children dying in Sudan amid healthcare system collapse    Massive Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project may transport green hydrogen    Egypt's national table tennis team qualifies for Paris Olympics    El-Hammamy wins women's final at QTerminals Qatar Classic    Ethiopia claims to finish filling GERD despite objections    Prime Minister inspects Grand Egyptian Museum    Prime Minister inspects Grand Egyptian Museum    The box office is not a measure of success: Basma    Egypt's street workout team wins 3 gold medals at world championship    Egypt's street workout team wins 3 gold medals at world championship    NBA Africa, MAVEN Developments announce multiyear collaboration in Egypt    Sisi, Ethiopia's PM discuss Sudan's crisis, Ethiopian dam    Celebrity earnings through Instagram in 2022    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Gharb Soheil: Where art meets eco-awareness
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 08 - 07 - 2010

Camera in hand, the natural beauty of Gharb Soheil all around her--and with environmental preservation, of course, in mind--Hoda Baraka shoots a set of boldly vibrant photographs. She uses color and composition to capture a village's striking beauty, all the while communicating the necessity of preserving it.
"From Gharb Soheil" is sponsored by the Center for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE). Egyptian artist Mohamed Abla, ever passionate about environmental sustainability and the concept of merging art with environmental causes, inaugurated the exhibit on 5 July.
On one side of the gallery, birds stand among grass, looking regal. Natural light delicately illuminates the strands of grass and hay. From the far wall, Nubian men stare back at you, their faces creased yet peaceful, exemplifying the village's vitality. Doorways and windows in striking orange and turquoise remind one of a box of crayons.
Baraka possesses "an interest in doors and windows in general, and these ones in particular symbolize the doorway into the people and place of Gharb Soheil.”
Despite Baraka's inspiring photos, however, she isn't pursuing a career in photography. “My true aspiration is to use photography as a medium for environmental advocacy,” she says. This isn't only the artist's first photography exhibition, but also her first attempt to raise environmental awareness through the medium of art.
Gharb Soheil is a village in the Upper Egyptian province of Aswan. Due to its rich Nubian culture and unrivaled scenery, it has been slated as a tourist destination, where travelers can spend a day exploring Nubian society. Local residents, though, want to maintain their village precisely as it is: a simple town unblemished by large-scale, commercial tourism, which can pose a serious threat to local ecosystems and environments.
“The people of Gharb Soheil are campaigning against unsustainable development, which would endanger their habitat,” says Baraka.
While vacationing in this village of some 2000 inhabitants, Baraka became enthralled with its beauty, realizing it was the perfect starting point for pursuing her dreams of “activist photography."
By capturing the village's transcendental beauty on film, she brings to light the splendid immensity of what is potentially under threat. “What we lose, we can never regain,” says Baraka.
She goes on to recall how a Nubian friend from the village had poignantly mourned the loss of several local species of bird. “He told me how he had grown up seeing certain birds, which are nowhere to be found today,” she remembers.
Color is the predominate theme of this exhibit. Baraka recalls with a chuckle how she had thought about entitling the exhibition “something quite clichéd, like 'Colors of Gharb Soheil'.” Baraka intended her exhibit to carry artistic images rather than “dry photography."
“I'm not giving plain facts; I'm conveying beauty, and showing the threat of losing such a magical place,” she says.
Through colorful photographs of the village's architecture, inhabitants, landscape and wildlife, the photographer attempts to depict a village that she found to be “full of life and color.”
The candid portraits on the wall give the villagers a voice. “I wanted to bring out the essence of these men; convey their spiritual and wholesome natures,” Baraka says. The photographs reveal faces marked by tranquility and reflection.
Two of Baraka's Gharb Soheil photographs were chosen by the Youth Ministry to be shown at the annual Youth Salon exhibit, in which artwork by budding Egyptian artists is showcased.
Overlooking a busy street in Cairo's cosmopolitan Maadi district, the assortment of photographs provides the viewer with a refreshing dose of crisp color. The exhibition will run until 29 July.


Clic here to read the story from its source.