by the old colors, and their technique of photography. It was simple, effortless but neat and organized. Everything is there, but it’s empty.” At the end of 2012 the British Council awarded him a spot in the ‘Out of Kuwait’ art program that would last for a year, and end in an exhibit in London’s Edge of Arabia art gallery. He had used the project to rekindle the memories he had lost, and wanted to do something that would offer emotional conclusion. So, the three photo series, “Touch of Adam,” was born. Al-Kouh set up a young girl dressed in the traditional Bakhnaq, a black headdress embroidered around the head and the front on a small sphere object, in front of greenery, blocked by a wire fence. This, he says is the past self that landed in the future.
An older woman, dressed in an abayya appears in the second photo, shocked to see herself as a little girl and uncomfortable by the memories she evokes. In the third picture the pale, cold green hues are replaced with warm reds as the two are comforted by each other’s touch. “This is you, you are never lost,” he said. “Even with what is happening around you, you will still be you. Your culture defines you.” For Al-Kouh, it is the search for culture that drives his work. He remembers the days when Kuwait was the pearl of the Gulf, and the young generation was proud of a country that shone with architectural feats from top designers all over the world. He reminisces about the times when neighbors built their homes with
large gardens, and tried to emulate each other’s home designs. It was a time when people shared ideas and worked together, rather than tried to out-do each other. “People have changed,” he said. “It’s not just a change of the buildings. The whole feel of the place is changing, and not for the better.” These days Al-Kouh sets up shots in his studio on the 13th floor of the Darwaza building in Kuwait City. As he exits the elevator and looks to his left, the burnt Sawaber buildings remind him of the gloriousness of Kuwait’s past that is forgotten in the city’s rush for tomorrow. To contact Mohamed you can visit his website at www.mohamedalkouh.com 73