Capturing moments: Life through the lens of photographer Asiah al-Sharabi

Asiah al-Sharabi, a young promising Yemeni photographer, has been working in this profession for the past 12 years. She graduated from Sana’a University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1997. Al-Sharabi has participated in a number of photography workshops, exhibited her work with that of other artists in two exhibitions held in Sana’a. Her work has been published in a number of publications including Visual Inspirations, Yemen Today, The Yemen Observer and in The International Library of Photography 2007.

Yemen Observer (YO): -How did you get involved in photography?
Asiah al-Sharabi (AAS): -I first started taking pictures in an occasional manner, at weddings, for friends, as a hobby. One day, a friend of mine who is a painter looked at my pictures and told me that there was something special on them. She pushed me to work in photography in a more professional way and to exhibit my work. That is how I held my first exhibition, five years ago, which was a really good experience. Now I feel that I am not ready for another exhibition yet, that my work needs to mature more until then. After that first exhibition I also worked as a photographer for The Yemen Observer and I used to do what you are doing now, ask questions and write articles. That was long time ago, and now I am working as a photographer on my own.
YO: -Why did you choose photography and not another form of artistic expression?
AAS: -When you take a picture, you portray what happens in an instant, something that will not happen again and that you capture with your camera thus making it last forever. This possibility is what attracted me and what still fascinates me, I like to capture moments, movements, lights, expressions on people’s faces, and I think photography is the best medium to do this. I believe photography is the only language understood in all parts of the world.

YO: -Are there specific things that attract you more than others when you take pictures?
AAS: -In general this country inspires me to do many things. Yemen is a very rich country and sometimes photographers believe that they are photographing a scene for the pleasure of it but in Yemen, is the scene itself that asks to be photographed. The problem is that so many people portray its beauty and, in my work, I also want to be able to show things that could be anywhere. I would like that the person that looks at my pictures feels they could be taken anywhere and not specifically in Yemen. I do not want to be ‘typical’ in my work, to portray Old Sana’a for instance, where so many pictures are taken. 

YO: -What are your sources of inspiration?
AAS: - Many, many things: the culture inspires me, the women, the faces of old people, the children, the doors, the windows, the buildings, and the nature that is still to be explored. YO: -Is there a message you wish to transmit through your work? AAS: -Yes. I want to focus on the woman: her life, her problems, how she balances things in our society, her sufferings…how a woman can suffer first due to her father and then once she gets married, due to her husband. Women have worked really hard to overcome some of these problems and I would like to reflect that strength through my work. I want to represent Yemeni women in their suffering, in their hidden beauty, and in their struggling to success…I would like to bring back the old history, when women were queens, poets, and smart fighters.

YO: -Would you say there is a style in your way of taking pictures?
AAS: -I actually do not know. Once, when I was working at The Yemen Observer, a photographer looked at my pictures (the ones I took for me, not for the newspaper) and he said that the lines marked them. There are straight lines that somehow stand up. I would like to concentrate on finding a style or defining one. 

YO: -What are the challenges you face in your work as a photographer? AAS: -You can imagine some of them: for men is ok to do this job, but for women is more complicated because if they see you wandering around, taking pictures like that, they make commentaries to you. To this I would add that is hard to find models for the pictures and that some conservative people think photography is ‘haram’ (forbidden in Islam) thus provoking misunderstanding towards this profession. Although Yemeni people are the nicest, friendliest people, still I find difficulties portraying them. I consider that photography is a way of provoking a human connection, but in Yemen it freezes people thus freezing this connection, and you find a high wall built between the photographer and the people. Still, this could be the most exciting part of photography in Yemen given that the world want to know more about the mysteries hidden in Yemeni culture, and all this mystery is reflected sometimes in faces that show it in a natural way.

YO: -How do you see the condition of photography as a profession in Yemen?
AAS: -There are not many photographers and the only female professional photographer I know is Boushra al-Mutawakel. The problem is that it is not possible to study photography here and that is difficult to acquire experience. You need to leave Yemen to learn. Overall I can say that to be a photographer is difficult, and to be a photographer in Yemen is even more difficult. Another issue is that we do not have galleries in Yemen to show our work. My hope is to see a growth of Yemeni female photographers, who I will be delighted to work with and establish a place where we can hold exhibitions from all over the world, and thus generate a cultural exchange, which is one of the most exciting parts of photography.

YO: -What are your future projects?
AAS: -My future projects are to continue improving my photographic skills and for that I would like to go and study in France. Also I would like to work with Nasser al-Aswadi, and when he comes back from France we are thinking about doing something together. 

Related Content

•  WB supports NGOs fight against QaT use among youth
•  YEMEN THROUGH AN AMERICAN’S LENS
•  Sa’dah war’s flagrant abuse to childrens’ rights (part 2)
•  Yemen returns 195 tons of illegal pesticides to their countries of origin
•  Child labor in Yemen...outlaw phenomenon
•  Sa’dah war, flagrant abuse of childrens’ rights Part (1)
•  Prominent hospital in al-Hodaidah shuts down
•  Socotra’s Belated Buzzard – The World’s Newest Bird
•  Thousands victims of Tourism Marriage in Thamar Governorate
•  To boost democracy students councils project launched