The BMG Foundation in partnership with Alāan Artspace in Riyadh and the Italian Embassy to Saudi Arabia is set to host a groundbreaking exhibition of the Italian photographer Teresa Emanuele curated by Dalya Islam.
According to Basil Al Ghalayini, Chairman of BMG Foundation, “the Diplomacy of Art was conceived as a program of events that highlights the similarities between cultures through art. In recognizing the commonalities between cultures we also encourage a colorful exchange between international and Saudi Arabian artists. We are honored to host such a world class Exhibition in Riyadh by a talented Photographer, Teresa Emanuele, and Curated by the Saudi Art Specialist, Dalia Islam.” “As the case with our Foundation events, net proceeds of this exhibition will support our 2013 initiative; Safe Driving…Life Saving” awareness campaign.” Al Ghalayini added.
Titled QVOD VIDES, TOTVM, the exhibition travels to the capital city in response to popular demand garnered during its first edition at Jeddah in March this year. The event, which will open on 24 April at the Alāan Artspace, is being held as part of BMG Foundation’s CSR and comes as a fund raising initiative for BMG Foundation’s nationwide Safe Driving campaign in Saudi Arabia, a country with the highest vehicle death toll in the world. Teresa Emanuele has participated in photography festivals as far afield as Moscow and held solo exhibitions in Rome and Venice. She has also exhibited at the premier art event worldwide at the Roman pavilion of the 54th Venice Biennale.
The second edition of QVOD VIDES, TOTVM will showcase an exclusive body of elegant and thought provoking work: 19 works of art in total including two kinetic installations and one video work. Emanuele’s monochromatic images of nature are carefully conceived and painstakingly captured. She is known for marrying sophisticated images and conceptual thought with contemporary media.
Emanuele prints on acrylic glass, a material that lends richness to an otherwise flat image by means of the shadows cast by the image itself adding a powerful three dimensional quality to what would otherwise be a traditional photograph. Emanuele also exhibits her signature kinetic installations known as shadowboxes where the shadows become animated by a simple, delicate mechanism hidden in the frame.
The most exciting aspect of this new body of work is the special commission of a video work for the exhibition in Jeddah, ACQVA IN OBSVCRITATE. The title of the exhibition QVOD VIDES, TOTVM (literally All That Is Seen) is drawn from the writings of the major Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger, 4 BC - 64 AD. Seneca’s discussions of nature hold a particular fascination for the artist and drive the concepts behind the images. Seneca proposes that the study of nature is ultimately the study of humanity. He suggests that in observing the world around us we free ourselves from the bonds of every-day concerns, the lust for power and material possessions. Emanuele’s modus operandi is the physical enactment of this study, the study of man through nature. Devoting days to woods and wild landscapes the artist captures the trees, the sunlight, the leaves, shadows and running water in an effort to deliver both beautiful pictures and subtle metaphors.
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