Egyptian portrays father's sadness, wins top award

Photo by Neeraj Murali

Omar Hany Kodir did not ever expect that a photograph he casually snapped of his father would bag him the first place at the 10th Shaikha Manal Young Artist Award.
Kodir, a 30--year-old, clicked his father in a mournful moment, giving the impression that the deep sadness captured by the image was prompted by bad news received at the time the picture was taken. But, in fact, his father had been pondering about his wife who had sadly died about a year before it was shot.
"We were having lunch and her subject came up. While my brother and I are young and we have our own lives, my father's life revolved around her," said Kodir, an Egyptian lawyer who walked away with Dh50,000 for the first place in the photography category.
Kodir was among 16 winners in different categories who won cash prizes and a trophies presented by Shaikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Sunday. The four other categories included Fine Art, Photography, Multimedia, and Design and Architecture, which was newly launched this year.
The image - titled 'Remorse'- was captured in 2013, a year after his mother died of Hepatitis C.
While Kodir's father, who resides in Egypt, was not present during the award ceremony, Kodir said: "He cried when he knew the picture was displayed on the Burj Khalifa after the announcement.
"Photography is my hobby, which somehow reflects in the way I look differently at things in life," said Kodir.
Syrian winner Malda Smadi, 29, who started painting a year ago, would agree. She won first place in the Fine Arts category for her portrait 'Mother: The Stare,' the first of her Mother' series.
Through her portrait, Smadi attempted to challenge the conventional angelic-like image of a mother.
"I want to look at individuals in a different light. I showed my mother as a person who has habits, imperfections and certain behaviours that makes her a unique individual," said Smadi. "While a mother has beautiful qualities, appearances may not reflect them and that's reality," Smadi said.
Smadi added that her mother was very supportive of the work. "While she wished it was a better portrait of her, in her eyes it is a great artwork."
First prize winners in the competition received Dh50,000, second prize winners got Dh30,000, and third prize winners took Dh20,000. The 'People's Choice' competition winner was awarded Dh12,000, while the #ClickYAA winner, runner-up and second runner-up received Dh10,000, Dh5,000 and Dh3,000, respectively.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
Description of work crucial in selection
Shaikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, founder of Barjeel Art and part of the judging panel, said usability and practicality of the design were the main criteria for selecting winners in the newly launched Architecture and Design category.
Another important factor was the description artists submitted with their pieces of art. "I urge artists to submit tight descriptions of their work, because it does make a difference in the selection process," said Al Qassemi.
Open to all UAE residents between the ages of 18 to 30 years old, the Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award supports, was first launched in 2006 as an annual visual arts competition to encourage and promote emerging artists from the UAE.
 

• UAE

Sherouk Zakaria

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com