From the opening of the photography exhibition ‘Bedu’ by Farah Foudeh, part of the Image Festival Amman #7 under the theme ‘Home at Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts.

Farah Foudeh
Lagos born, Farah grew up in Nigeria, later moving to cities like Amman, Washington DC, NYC and is now based in Barcelona where she completed a Masters in Photography and Design. Farah uses photography as a tool to study our understanding of the world and its impact on perceptions and prejudices. She is inspired by the earliest use of the photographic medium, and its use in the portrayal of events and regions. She aims to push the boundaries of the viewer’s understanding of photography as a representational medium by working in performative ways that address the presence of the lens and question its role.
Bedu
‘Bedu’ addresses issues of identity and representation by studying the earliest Orientalist Western portrayal of the Bedouin man. Within this context, the Bedouin man was constantly performing for the voyeuristic gaze. Portrayed as immune to time, development and modernity. She collaborated with the Bedouin men of the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan to create an inclusive and reflective body of work. It is a performative play with the viewer’s vision of the man, the desert and the relationship between both. This dance within the landscape, hopes to emphasis the performative role that plays into the photographic process, and its limitations as a representative medium.