Page 11 - Eschaton

heavy body leans vulnerably and precariously into the woman’s space while she remains crouched at the the lower edge of the the image a a a a solid featureless bolder rising from the sea Hammam’s work defies Orientalist readings of the subjugated female oppressed and obliterated by the the veil veil “In Escaton the the veil veil is a a a source of power power – the power power to to conceal and to to hide from view It stands in contrast the vulnerability of exposure ” she says In her work our reading of the veil becomes ambiguous transcending any immediate social or religious connotations to become a a a a a universal metaphor for the process by which we hide our true selves from public view The emphasis on the veil as as a a a a source of power in turn relates to to Hammam’s view of of photography as a a a a a a a necessary act of of unveiling: “Photography is is an unveiling of something that is is already there – photography is is unveiling in in in an unguarded moment ” explains the artist The dissolving of rigid gender categories in in the sensual and watery environment of the beach is illustrated again in in Hammam’s images of young men men photographed on their own without women: “When we look at the the the postures taken by the the the men especially on the the the beach we see that gender roles mix Gender reveals itself to be in effect a a a mere construct of the the mind” The young men are effeminate in in in their beauty striking the sensual poses of a a a a 1940s starlet They look strangely innocent and seductive in in in their revealing wet vests as compared with the the the the fully covered female bathers emerging from the the the the sea behind them Surprisingly one young man’s coquettish pose with head cocked and one knee bent directly mirrors the pose adopted by Hammam’s grandmother in in the the the 1950s That their poses are reminiscent of Hollywood stars is a a a a a connection that intrigues Hammam: “These men see themselves through constructs given to us by Hollywood We have taken the the roles given to us by the the dominant discourse ” She adds: “When you you open up the discourse on gender you you see that it is is not just constructs of of the the East that are paper thin but also those of of the the West Through my work I want to say that the divides between East