REVIEW Images - Courtesy of the artist and Tashkeel. Writer - Maha Alsharif, writer and critic.
Jalal Bin Thaneya: Beyond the Fence Exploring the collateral value of waste Beyond the Fence, a photography exhibition by
majority of his time trying to get permission to enter.
Jalal Bin Thaneya, explores the collateral value of
With his creativity distracted and his time limited,
industrial products and waste. The photographs
Bin Thaneya experienced unforeseen technical and
of raw industrial structures are nearly to scale, and
conceptual challenges.
document the workings of industrial facilities. They also speak about the artist’s experience having gone
To achieve the aesthetic quality he envisioned,
through a lengthy and unconventional security
timing was a critical element. Bin Thaneya says, “I
process to gain access into these facilities. The
don’t take pictures all year round, there’s a certain
final series of images not only captures what these
time of the year during which I make images,” so
facilities are and how they operate, but also brings
unanticipated delays risked losing the apt natural
attention to less obvious yet important ways they
light he required. While he initially used 4 x 5 film,
contribute to modern living.
which takes about two weeks to develop between Dubai, Berlin and New York, he had to find a faster
Taking stylistic inspiration from photographers
alternative in digital cameras. He then was able to
like Margret Bourke-White, Paul Strand, Edward
achieve comparable quality using a medium format
Burtynsky and Charles Schieler, Bin Thaneya presents
Hasselblad camera.
industrial environments in their raw states, using straightforward techniques that rely on natural light
On the conceptual level, the artist’s experience to
to compliment the subjects and surroundings. He
obtain entry permits made him aware of the impact
presents in a direct and objective way the very
these facilities have that transcends the industrial
things that hide in plain sight, but that have a strong
and economic aspects. A threat to them means a
position and impact within society.
threat on the country’s security, stability, political and economic foundations, environment and public
At times the pictures are in carefully polished frames.
health, and ultimately potential growth.
For the photos, the artist directs his lens to rough arcane locations that make many modern activities,
Although the images of steel structures, tire piles,
like easy transportation, possible. Considering how
and tired engines in the series appear cold and
the oil and gas industries are at the core of many
disconnected from the human experience, the
others, the artist captures details of oil refineries and
viewer identifies with the artist’s vantage point and
scrapyards where raw materials and industrial waste
presence. In addition to the images, the viewer
are processed. The images present these locations
relates to Thaneya’s process and experience of
in unglamorous stages of their life cycles. However
physically reaching beyond the fence, which in this
due to safety and security regulations, his project
case functions also as a performative medium that
was obstructed and he was forced to spend the
opens a dialogue on much broader subjects.
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