PHOTOGRAPHY
WEDDING MEMORIES, 2011
Photographic series
“Wedding Memories” is a series of photographs with a wedding motif. The tradition is that the couple’s families arrange the wedding, where the partners meet each other for the first time. Having the face covered is a remnant of a custom whereby it was possible to reject the marriage after seeing the partner’s face. Until today’s women’s rights are limited, and there is still a strong tendency to require virginity upon marriage as a symbol of the women’s innocence. Modernizing may be progressing, but are rooted in older customs, and the work hints at these. The situation with the desert in the background can also be interpreted as the artist’s nostalgia for his home country as it modernized. Meer’s works raise the issue of how to relate to the culture and customs of Arab society that are incompatible with modernization, and can also be seen as a manifestation of the artist’s struggles engendered by the different cultures that have each become a part of his makeup.
THE HOUSE SERIES: REFLECTION FROM MEMORIES, 2010
Photographic series
“Reflection from memories” is a series of photographs showing the sense of life in Oman in the period of sixties and seventies. A big transition happened in the region through that decade; the discovery of Oil brought new hope and life to the people. Most of the Omani returned back to their home from abroad, some of them brought their memories with them and some of them left them behind. The Architecture of the city changed, people moved to new arias and left their old houses behind. The modernity has come, and the transition is happening, but with no control. Most of the cities in the aria lost there original soul, in my Work I’m trying to send a message to the people to maintain what’s left from their past.
When I entered my grandfather'shousea fewyears ago I found nothing but only broken walls and windows. The emptiness of the house derived me to go back to the memory of my family. Then I started creating a series of photographs inspired by the soul of our old House.
BEYOND THE HILL SERIES, 2008
Photographic series
“Reflection from memories” is a series of photographs showing the sense of life in Oman in the period of sixties and seventies. A big transition happened in the region through that decade; the discovery of Oil brought new hope and life to the people. Most of the Omani returned back to their home from abroad, some of them brought their memories with them and some of them left them behind. The Architecture of the city changed, people moved to new arias and left their old houses behind. The modernity has come, and the transition is happening, but with no control. Most of the cities in the aria lost there original soul, in my Work I’m trying to send a message to the people to maintain what’s left from their past.
When I entered my grandfather'shousea fewyears ago I found nothing but only broken walls and windows. The emptiness of the house derived me to go back to the memory of my family. Then I started creating a series of photographs inspired by the soul of our old House.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNICATION, 2011
Photographic series
"Spiritual Communication. Enlightenment series". This work is the result of an active contemplation of the spiritual and ritualized aspects of the ancient traditions in our societies, associated with beliefs and legends from the ancient Orient.
"I see art as a language - using various ideas and symbols - that enables me to reveal the human condition and the contradictions that emerge in conflicts between civilizations. given the violent clashes we are witnessing in contemporary societies, i focus on experimentation and I'm looking for new tools to express current issues. i use conceptual "seeds" and my art is based on ideas and employs video and photos. however, my experimentation is based on precise criteria and roots, and is never without points of reference.
this explains why my more recent work contains a particular mix of personal and collective dimensions, or, in other words, a combination of personal and collective remembrance" - Hassan Meer
