PHOTO EXHIBITION AT THE THIRD LINE IN DUBAI Lamya Gargash: Traces

Lamya Gargash / Drapes, 2014, Chromogenic color print, 60x60 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Lamya’s practice has been concerned with the extensive study of identity and perception, and often documenting forgotten spaces in public and private realms in Emirati society. Finding herself caught in the chaos of daily life and the demands of motherhood, as well as the loss of several deaths in the family in the last three years, Traces echoes her longing for silent, stationary moments. The images showcase the artist’s heightened sensitivity towards finding beauty in the mundane.

The exhibition consists of a selection of photographs taken at various points in time, celebrating the visibly banal. These are spaces that still show signs of someone having left a mark of their presence – in effect also highlighting their absence: used plates after a family lunch, a motionless mickey mouse ride serenely staring off into nothingness, dirty drapes from Lamya’s now demolished house, and more.

Lamya Gargash / Chairs & Coffee Pot, 2014, Chromogenic color print, 60x60 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Lamya Gargash / Al Madinah Car Park, 2014, Chromogenic color print, 60x60 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

As a photographer, Lamya finds that these poetic instances suggest moments of physical interaction of some sort and communicate our human-ness. They point towards the fragility of life, which strongly states the inevitability of mortality, and in the end the traces left behind are mere moments that will also fade with time.

Lamya Gargash / After Lunch, 2014, Chromogenic color print, 60x60 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Abandoned-Shell / After Lunch, 2014, Chromogenic color print, 60x60 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Lamya Gargash graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2004, followed by a Masters degree in Arts in Communication Design from Saint Martins in the UK in 2007. She has won a number of awards for her work in film and photography. In 2004, she received first prize in the Emirates Film Festival, as well as the Ibdaa Special Jury Award for her movie titled Wet Tiles. Lamya’s first artist book, Presence, is a photographic series which documents recently vacated houses and structures in the United Arab Emirates that have been abandoned or left for demolition.

Lamya Gargash / National Day Sheila, 2014, Chromogenic color print, 60x60 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Lamya has held solo exhibitions in Italy and UAE and has participated in various group exhibitions in Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, and France as well as within the UAE. In 2009, she participated in the 53rd Venice Biennale as the featured artist of the UAE's first ever national pavilion, and in the 9th Sharjah Biennale. In 2014, she participated in the 15th international FotoFest Biennial in Houston, USA. The artist lives and works in Dubai.

Lamya Gargash / Entangled Tree, Chromogenic color print, 60x60 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

The Third Line is a Dubai-based art gallery that represents contemporary Middle Eastern artists locally, regionally and internationally. The Third Line also hosts non-profit, alternative programs to increase interest and dialogue in the region. Represented artists include: Abbas Akhavan, Ala Ebtekar, Amir H. Fallah, Arwa Abouon, Babak Golkar, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Farhad Moshiri, Fouad Elkoury, Golnaz Fathi, Hassan Hajjaj, Hayv Kahraman, Huda Lutfi, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Laleh Khorramian, Lamya Gargash, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Pouran Jinchi, Rana Begum, Sahand Hesamiyan, Sara Naim, Sherin Guirguis, Shirin Aliabadi, Slavs and Tatars, Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Youssef Nabil and Zineb Sedira.