Page 14 - Eschaton

own interactions with her subjects Here she consciously inverts the the traditionally male-dominated role of the the beach photographer in in Egypt Hammam describes the the process by which she enters the the public domain of of the the the beach in in the the the language of of quasi-ritual: “I arrive on the the the beach pick a a a a a a parasol and and dump my stuff under it Then I go and and scout for a a a a a possible subject to to photograph As I wander along the beach camera in hand people come up to me me me me and and challenge me me me me After thirty minutes of back and forth - - the right word here a a a well-received joke there - I’m invited for tea or or lunch on the the sand ” With her her strange mixture of of Western looks and and strong vernacular command of of Arabic Hammam elicits a a a a a a paradoxical confused response in her subjects who are caught off guard by her her mixed ‘cultural signifiers’ They regard her her with skepticism even anger “but through humor and banter I erode the the perceived cultural barrier that separates us once their confidence is is won they pose freely for the the camera ” says Hammam It is is significant that she does not seek to capture her images in unguarded moments but grants control of self-representation to her subjects inviting them to choose their their preferred pose and infusing her work with their their joint collaboration Indeed there is is in in Hammam’s artistic strategy a a a a a a coupling of a a a a a a conscious sense of what she wants to to capture with a a a a willingness to to put aside her plan to to photograph what spontaneously unfolds before her: “I know that that I I am going down one particular route but on on that that route there is is chance chance I relish that interplay of chance chance circumstances with my original plan ” According to the the artist the the traditional beach photographers frequently approach her her her and argue with her her her for usurping their territory But this inversion of conventional roles is is an integral element in in in Escaton where Hammam’s own gender influences the the final outcome of the the work: “The fact that I am a a a a a a woman definitely affects the work I do: men would not allow me me to to take photographs of their female companions if I were a a a a a man Also they might perhaps feel challenged to to give up the the central space in the the image to to women if they were being photographed by a a a man ”