Farah Al Qasimi

Curtain Shop, 2016

The work of photographer Farah Al Qasimi offers insights into the private spaces, friendly encounters, and pastimes of her generation of young women in the United Arab Emirates and the United States. The interiors photographed by Al Qasimi feature the characteristic colors, materials, and ornaments of the Gulf region and form their own aesthetic universes from which theatrical scenes arise. As in a chamber play, a small number of people occupy a single, limited space. Their faces and bodies are obscured or covered by objects as if by chance. Ornament-covered surfaces, such as textiles and interiors, and the female bodies framed by other fabrics together turn the visual spaces into a series of overlapping and juxtaposed patterns and textures.