Mesra
Event End Date : 21 January, 2023
Venue : M7
Khalid Hamad Al Thani is a photographer with a career spanning over fifteen years. His work is known for a wide range of desert landscapes with its non-human habitat as a central element. Drawing from the surrounding environment, such as movement and geometry, he aims to create a conversation about the many dimensions of the desert evoking a visual and theoretical presence that disrupts heritage aesthetics. Al Thani has shown locally and internationally.
Mesra (Path) is an installation consisting of sound and photograph. The traveled route by the passing figure – the horse – is motionless yet central. Moving beyond the subject of beauty and hyper details of body lines, the intertwined gestures of shadow and outline suggest a shared hierarchy written by light. In this work, the horse cuts through the path into joyous clarity despite the “lackness” of visible light and destination.
Minimal occupation of the space is intentional and is often highlighted by Al Thani to convey a commentary on the universality of the desert which occupies one-fifth of the planet’s land. The sound element, which is composed by layers of recordings collected by the artist, accompanies the work from distance signifying the abstraction of the emotion.