From the series "Bey Hamam"
Abbas Hamra (1976)
2009 | 105 x 70 cm
Photography
Museum of Contemporary Art
MCA.SMCA.C356
Donation of the artist
ARTWORK DETAILS
Series: Bey Hamam
Type: Photograph
Subject: Everyday life, Photography
ARTWORK DESCRIPTION
The series of artworks "Loutra o Paradisos" is the photographic result of the performance that the artist carried out for the opening of the 2nd International Workshop for Young Artists, which took place in the framework of the 2nd Biennale of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki in 2009. The site of the hammam was the artist's main inspiration, since the historic monument itself has a dual role: on the one hand, it was an important space with a clear functional role and on the other hand, in modern times, it is a symbol of the city's Muslim past. Its functional role as a bathhouse, which in the past offered the entire ritual of purification, is reflected in the artist's performance and in her photographic lens, respectively, conveying the archetypal image of purity, washing and purification.
CREATOR
Hamra Abbas was born in Kuwait in 1976. She completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan (BFA, obv. 1999 & M.A., obv. 2002) and then her studies at the Universität der Kunst in Berlin (2004). She has held solo exhibitions in Istanbul, Karachi, Dubai, London, Lahore, Berlin, etc. and has participated in dozens of international exhibitions. He lives and works between Boston and Lahore. She draws her inspiration from dozens of sources, images, encounters, experiences. Her main intention is to deconstruct the act of seeing by recreating images that are part of a collective memory. Without being influenced by the subject matter itself or by external factors such as the media, she takes an exploratory approach to create a diverse and holistic set of works that examine various concepts: of sexuality, violence, devotion, loyalty, faith, cultural and social history, etc.