People: Abdullah Al-Assaf, Co-Founder and Chairman, OCEANX Consulting Firm

RIYADH: Photographer Faisal Bin Zahrah’s first three-day solo exhibition, The Kingdom of Life, has transformed Riyadh’s Lakum art space into a vivid love letter to Saudi Arabia. It’s the result of 15 years of hard work.

The exhibition, which ran from September 27th to October 2nd, showcased photographs of the vast expanse of space from the northern region to AlUla in the western region and the beautiful landscape of Riyadh in the central region.

“Every Saudi knows his work, but they don’t recognize it as Faisal,” Dana Cavani, the curator of the exhibition, told Arab News. “His pictures are in passport departments, Absher apps, every ministry you can think of. His commercial work is very famous.”

Having spent most of his life photographing for commercial purposes, Bin Zahrah realized that by devoting so much time and effort to capturing unique images, photography becomes more valuable than just a business transaction. I noticed.

He sees his work as something to ponder and reflect on. With his one exhibition, he veered from corporate to creative.

“Photos that took two years to make should not be posted on a website or used for commercial or advertising purposes. A better use would be to consider it a work of art,” says Bin Zalagh. he told Arab News.

But how do you turn a commercial photographer’s work into a work of art? For the exhibition’s curators, the challenge was presentation, not content.

“We chose the best material to showcase his work, chose a particular sequence of these (photographs) and gave his work a timeline. I did,” Cavani said.

“I created this art gallery because all you see are limited edition prints just for collectors and art lovers,” he added.

Bin Zarah believes that the widespread use of his images for social media and commercial advertising purposes devalues ​​his work.

“For me, photography is much deeper than pressing the shutter, you can see it.

This long-awaited love letter story is born out of love itself. Bin Zahler started photography in 2007 when his wife gifted him his first camera and taught him the basics of photography. he’s proud of it

He found his style and began cultivating his visual eye through photo-sharing websites like Flickr until he gravitated towards photography of landscapes and cityscapes.

There are two of his works. One of which focuses on the growth of civilization in Riyadh and another on its industrialization.

In his piece titled ‘Lift Off’, he describes a shot of the full moon rising over Faisaliya Tower as a ‘moment of joy’.

For him who works in the telecommunications field by day and takes care of four children, he considers his photography as an escape from all stress and negativity.

“This time is fun for me. This is what drives me…When you build something, be it Lego or a puzzle, when you complete it there is a reward and you get a sense of accomplishment and completion. It’s what you get for the first time,” said Bin Zahrah.

His unique angle even impressed the owner of Kingdom Tower, Prince Al Waleed bin Talal.

Exhibited at Lakum Art Space as part of Bin Zarah’s ‘Dawn to Dusk’ photo series. This photo series will take you on a journey to different parts of Riyadh through the rotation of the sun.

His dedication is evident in his work. Bin Zahra spent two years waiting for the full moon each month to capture the perfect moment to graze both Faisalia and Kingdom Tower in the lunar series.

“His work ethic made this really easy to curate and install. It means taking you to your destination,” said Qabbani.

Another aspect of his job is pursuing his love of traveling to discover gems within the kingdom. By doing so, he hopes to encourage people to step into these spaces and appreciate their beauty.

“My message is: From north to south, east to west, there is a kingdom that is astonishingly vibrant and full of undiscovered gems untouched by humans and others. I am He’s just showing a side of beauty, the real beauty is to actually go and see the place,” said Bin Zalagh.

In his AlUla collection, all the stars are captured in one shot under the night sky of Al Galamir, north of the city, as seen in his works “Interstellar” and “Message to the Galaxy”. It features a variety of self-portraits.

Bin Zarah uses a Sony A7R Mark IV, a 60-megapixel camera, with a variety of zoom and wide-angle lenses to capture every detail. Standing parallel to his work, the audience can easily get the instinct to reach out and feel the texture.

He frequently uses drones and stitching techniques to ensure details are vivid enough to be seen by the human eye.

“I try to go to the usual places and shoot in a different way…By design, the drone’s camera is wide. No one used to do a sky scan to show you these amazing details,” he said.

In his amazing Vein of the Earth, he took 21 photographs from a distance of 500 meters and stitched them together to reveal red dunes and mountains near Tadig, a historic city north of Riyadh. I made it

An unusual landscape scene spanning 3 km formed by wind and rainwater rushing through gaps in the land.

As a photographer who has traveled the kingdom for years, his work serves as a landscape documentation before several giga projects are launched under Vision 2030, such as NEOM and Qiddiya.

He sees the project as an ascent into these spaces. It does not tamper with the environment. They really reflect the underlying history of the area.

“The Line, NEOM, is a mirror. So it doesn’t interfere with the environment. It’s in it… Saudi Arabia is a land of civilization. The history of the entire planet began on the Arabian Peninsula,” said Bin Zalagh. rice field.

“The new project is good for the public and I am very happy that they care about the environment. They are not destroying anything, they are actually saving it.”