By Sekka Team
This article is part of the Young Guardians of Our Folklore Series.
Over the last decade in particular, Oman has given birth to a new generation of talented photographers and artists including Haitham Al Farsi, Chendy, Mahmood Al Zadjali, Mujahid Al Malki, Tariq Al Hajri and H.H. Sayyida Meyyan Shihab Al Said, to name but a few. Another name that is now also rising to national and regional recognition is that of 21-year-old Omani photographer Abdulaziz Alhosni.
Though his photography journey began only in recent years, the graphic design student’s photographs, which tackle social issues, especially those of the youth, are already garnering the attention of thousands of Oman’s predominantly young population. In fact, it is the youth and “the youth’s untapped potential” that inspires much of Abdulaziz’s photography and art, something that is particularly evident in the first few works he has shared through his Instagram page, such as Release Your Energy and 3000.
Habayib Club by Abdulaziz Alhosni. Images: Courtesy. Click on each to enlarge it.
“I consider my work to be very reality-based. I derive my inspiration from what I see and experience every day, and I try to depict reality and my concepts within my photography,” says the self-taught photographer. Amongst his most noteworthy series is Habayib Club. One of the photographs of the series features Abdulaziz donning a pink kummah (traditional headpiece) with hearts embroidered on it, while resting on a couch in a pink and blue room with a glass full of a blood-red love potion in his hand. Another features the same glass broken with the words “Long lives love” alongside it in Arabic.
“Habayib Club is an imagined club for people who are afraid to express their feelings and emotions,” he explains, something that, based on his observations, is not only common amongst the Omani youth but also amongst the youth of the wider Arab world. “Every element in Habayib Club represents and expresses something specific. For example, the kummah that is embroidered with hearts shows that love, traditional clothes and traditions as a whole, are in sync. The drink is a magical love potion that gives its consumer the courage to express their emotions.”
Ain Min Allah Khair by Abdulaziz Alhosni. Images: Courtesy. Click on each image to enlarge it.
Similarly, Ain Min Allah Khair features Abdulaziz and another young man gathered over traditional Arabic coffee, with both wearing traditional Omani dress, but Abdulaziz pairing it with black sneakers. Not only does that series celebrate coffee, its Arabness and its ability to bring people together, it also once again shows how tradition and modernity can blend in well together, a theme that is important for Abdulaziz. “The Omani youth are generally distant from the past, and we often forget that the past had its own youth who went through things that are similar to what we go through today,” he adds. “Through my work I try to embody the youth of the past while adding my own contemporary twist as a young man in 2021.”
To view more of Abdulaziz Alhosni’s work, visit his page on Instagram .
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