Leila Alaoui, the French-Moroccan photographer and video artist who died aged 33 after being shot in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in Janurary is one of three photographers going on show in March in the latest exhibition at Dubai’s East Wing.
If I Leave, Where Will I Go? is dedicated to the memory the photographer who was on assignment for Amnesty International Burkina Faso. In the exhibition, her video installation, Crossings, will be shown. It reflects on experiences of sub-Saharan migrants who embark on the perilous journey to reach the elusive shores of Europe.
Jordanian photographer Tanya Hajouqa will also be presenting her latest work, Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots, a popular proverb in the Levant, which means, 'tomorrow never comes', or 'in your dreams. Habjouqa's photos explore the complicated intimacies of everyday life of Syrian refugee women in Jordan who have been left behind whilst their husbands and brothers seek a new life in Europe. Many cling to the hope that soon their family will be reunited and, in too many cases, grapple with the knowledge they will never see them again.
Omar Imam's Live Love Refugee explores the mental state of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, specifically investigating how relationships and dreams are affected by conflict and displacement.
In conjunction with the exhibition, there will be a one-night screening of the film Queens of Syria, which tells the story of fifty women from Syria, all forced into exile in Jordan, who came together in Autumn 2013 to create and perform their own version of The Trojan Women, the ancient Greek tragedy about the plight of women in war. Not one of them had ever acted before.
* The exhibition runs form March 10 – April 7 and the film screening is on March 23.
More information on this event can be found here
* aseaman@thenational.ae
