Telling history of Qatar through photos, poetry

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) A poetic and photographic presentation of history and culture of Qatar is currently on display at Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum. Many visitors have been taking keen interest in the exhibition that offers attractive images of the animals loved and respected in the country.
The exhibition ‘From The Desert To Life' will last till February 28. It offers 14 photographs in total showing falcons, horses, and camels in Qatar. Each photo carries poetic words with it.
Cécilia Burtica, a Belgian-Romanian writer and author of a dozen books, curated the exhibition and wrote the poetic captions for each photo. Aurélie Korady, a French photographer living in Doha for 10 years, shared seven photos in the exhibitions showing falcons and camels. The rest of the seven photos are shared by Marie-Josée Bédard, a Canadian photographer living in Doha since 2004. Her photos show different horses and camels.
The exhibition was recently opened by Kees Wieringa, director of Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum. The exhibition sets well with the theme and motto of the museum that is to highlight the history and growth of Qatar.
Sharing the details of the exhibition, Cécilia said: 'It is a photographic project supported by poetic texts on a Qatari animal theme. The two photographers have shown their passion for horses, falcons and camels. All this is put into words to make the images sing, to encourage the human imagination to see beyond the photo itself, beyond the history and the many facets of local or regional customs. The poetic texts are there to whisper to our ears, to give us the desire to relive some experience of the world around us through the two arts simultaneously.
'The thoroughbred Arabian horse and the camel have a privileged place among the other animals of the region, because they are described in a eulogistic way in some verses of the Holy Qur'an. The love and association with falcon is also not hidden in this part of the world.
She added: 'In contemporary society the fascination with the bestiary is explained by the religious, cultural and customary heritage, by the desire to share certain proximity with these animals, and also by a responsible conscience on the safeguarding of the cultural heritage which could decline because of the effect of modernity and globalisation.
Talking about herself, Cécilia said: 'I have authored a dozen books published in France, Belgium, Romania and Lebanon. I have great interest in theater, poetry, children's story, translation, and literary criticism.
Talking to Community, Marie said: 'I have a degree in photography from Dawson College in Montreal. I began my career in large scale production management and by publishing for a popular magazine. I have been living in Doha since 2004. I have already contributed to several local exhibitions on Qatari culture. My passion and fascination for horses comes from my teenage years. We have horses in our house. I learnt how to ride a horse when I was very young. I have good knowledge about different kinds of horses. I also know much about the Arabian horses.
She added: 'Actually, I practically started applying my photography skills in Qatar. Since I moved to Qatar, I have enough time to take photos and here we have easy access to different things to photograph them. I am happy that I am the part of a project that tells about the history and culture of Qatar.
Aurélie said: 'My passion for photography began in my early childhood but here in Doha I devote myself entirely to this art. In 2009, I won an award at the Trierenberg Super Circuit Award and in 2017 one of my photos of construction is in the final of the competition held by an Engineering magazine.
She further said: 'I got attracted towards photography as a child. I followed my father who always used to carry a camera with him. In Qatar I have participated in several exhibitions. I love capturing falcons and I admire the culture of Qatar. I am proud to be the part of this exhibition that highlights Qatar's culture and traditions.

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