Art Is Not What You See, But What You Make Others See.

So the day has come, the doors of the gallery exhibiting my work are open, and for the first time I got to stand beside my photos and hear what people actually got to say about it. I must say, it is a very different feeling than reading Instagram comments. 

It is not the first time that my work is being exhibited, but it is the first time I can be there and talk to people who come to look at it, and it is the first time I submit the request, print and frame the photos myself. There is something magical to see it come to life when it slowly emerges out of the printer. Unfortunately, the reality of today is that most of my photos – work and personal – will always stay in digital form.

I am very grateful to all those who could come and support me on this important day of my life, and to all those of you who stopped and stared at my images – heart-melting feeling. It is quite awesome that you can see my photos right from the entrance to the gallery, they are not hidden somewhere in the corner, and it was quite interesting to see that people indeed would walk around, observing the work of others, but would stop and look at the details for a minute or so. 

I loved the fact that even though I did put the locations in the description of the photos, most people who spoke to me said they could not believe this was in the UAE. They could not believe how beautiful the colours were, and how interesting the landscape looked. A few Emiratis asked me why I go to drive around the country and isn’t Dubai Mall enough entertainment for me? One guy even said that he is so proud to know I know Kalba, his native city because even his friends don’t know it. Score!

The one of Shuweihat Island in Abu Dhabi was a total hit, as I heard people telling me they know a place like this in Egypt, in Australia, in Greece, but no, it is right here, in our beloved UAE. I am so happy I managed to show locals how beautiful their country is.
I had poetry written with the images, but the gallery decided not to use it as a description, which is a bit of a downside, as Emiratis love poetry as well, but hey, maybe next time.

Special thanks to Mr Yasir Ansari who was a driving force behind these images, big thank you goes to Mr Christopher Osborne who encouraged me to submit my work to this exhibition, and to all my friends who constantly tell me not to give up on my passion even though it is not very economically viable.

Much love,

Anna