The Al Hambra palace and other Moorish monuments in Andalusia, Spain, are among the most photographed places in the world. Yet, Akim Monet manages to surprise viewers with his photographs of these marvels of Islamic architecture and design in his first solo show in Dubai, “Seeking Al Tawhid in Andalucía”. The Swiss American artist prints directly what is on his negatives rather than inverting them into positive images. The resulting pictures have an ethereal quality, with a painterly and heightened palette. His monumental photographs give viewers the experience of being inside the beautiful structures and feeling the energy of the spaces. They invite viewers to immerse themselves in the mesmerising symmetry and infinitely repeating patterns of the architecture and decorations, and to contemplate the profound philosophy behind them.
Monet began this project while contemplating the lack of human or animal imagery in Islamic art. While studying the practice of symbolising that which is beyond manifestation using abstract geometry, he also explored the parallels he noticed in using photography to represent the third dimension. The artist, who is also a leading gallerist and art dealer, spoke to Weekend Review about his journey on this project. Excerpts:
What was the idea behind this project?
The idea for this show came to me while thinking about the rejection of the depiction of living creatures in Islamic art, and the resulting development of the Arabesque in which abstract geometry and stylised organic motifs are used to symbolise within our manifest realm that which is beyond manifestation. I pondered over a possible connection between the invention of this visual language, which leads the eye back and forth between the second and third dimension, and photography, where the representation of three-dimensional subject matter is rendered on a flat surface. I discovered that the infinitely extensible designs in Islamic art, made up of self-replicating units, have been interpreted as visual demonstrations of the singleness of god and his presence everywhere. They represent ‘unity in multiplicity’ and ‘multiplicity in unity’. The term for this oneness and belief in god’s uncompromised unity and transcendence is Tawhid. With these thoughts, I embarked on a journey that began in Andalusia, where in the words of British orientalist and archaeologist Stanley Lane-Poole, “Whatever makes a kingdom great, whatever tends to refinement and civilisation was found in Moorish Spain.”
Why do you want to make your photographs look like negatives?
The reason goes back to a trip I made to India when I was in my thirties. I backpacked across the country and was deeply affected by the beauty and power of the ancient temples and monuments, which inspired me to take up photography. I really loved the fact that people still gather in these ancient spaces for worship and festivities, and they continue to be a part of everyday life. But when I looked at my photographs, I was disappointed because they just could not convey the essence of the continuum of time that I had experienced in these places. Instead, I found that the negatives were more vibrant and had that sense of timelessness that I had felt. Maybe, because a negative is actually a trace of the subject and the moment, and is the most direct transfer of how light of a particular place and time burns into sensitised film, it has that element which is missing in the photograph, which is merely a reproduction of the subject. So, I became obsessed with finding a way to print my pictures as negatives. Initially I projected my negatives on to a screen and took photographs of the projections to make prints that looked like the negatives. But now I use digital printing technology to get good quality prints of my 35mm negatives.
This look appeals to me aesthetically and conceptually. It gives the pictures a timeless feel. And I like the duality in the play between positive and negative in the pictures. The fact that we humans can only see a part of the visual spectrum brings into question what is reality, and how it can be depicted. Maybe the negative is more real because it is burned by the actual light that danced off the subject. So, it is another way of exploring existential questions.
How important was it for this project to be done in Andalusia?
It was very important, because these monuments represent a glorious moment in history and the embodiment of very refined ideas that give us a better understanding of god within us. Like all great art, they are timeless and speak to us always and give us a sense of belonging. I think there is a need at the moment for the West to understand that Islam is not another. It is a religion from within Europe, and its representations exist in every great city around the Western world. I want people to forget that these structures are old; and to bring them into the present and look at them for what they tell us today about unity, tolerance and peace.
Seeking Al Tawhid in Andalucía will run at XVA gallery, Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood until December 10
Jyoti Kalsi is an arts enthusiast based in Dubai.