Almoutasim Almaskery: Wo-Man

A choreography of switching roles

Left to Right: Almoutasim Almaskery, WO-MEN 2.1; WO-MEN 2.2, from the series WO-MEN (2012). Courtesy of the artist and the Empty Quarter Gallery.

With text by Anna Seaman, visual arts writer.

Confronting an Arab woman dressed in traditional Arab men’s clothing would be an arresting, if not confounding or confusing moment. Having the woman starring directly back at you, the viewer, makes the experience ever more unsettling. This unsettling of the viewer is precisely photography Almaskery’s intention. He instantly makes you take a second look. The clothing generates the decoding of a male message from the image, but clearly the model is not a man, but a woman. This intentional cross-coding of gender based signs short-circuits normative readings of his photographs, forcing the viewers upon their second viewing into seriously questioning society’s framing of gender and identity. 

By pairing photographs, the first with the wo-man starring back to you, the second with her eyes shut Almaskery also stages a viewing choreography that intends to make viewers consider two aspects of women. For him, the wo-man’s frontal stare visually conveys the power of women. This is contrasted with a view of the same figure with their eyes closed, which Almaskery intends to have decoded as representing the fragile aspect of woman, at least as constructed in Arab communities.

The androgynous images are shot in pairs, one image with the subject’s eyes open and another with them closed. The use of light and shadow is deeply pronounced, which is, in general, something that characterizes Almaskery’s work. The series is compelling and very strong. “When you see the photographs, the first thing you notice is the man’s clothing and when their eyes are open, you can see how strong and how willing they are to go to the extra mile and when their eyes are closed you can see how fragile they are. The whole project is just an observation on the position of women in today’s society and I chose different nationalities of women to photograph because it is a globalized change.”

Almoutasim Almaskery is an Omani photographer who fuses tradition with modernity and strong social commentary. If there were one word to define the way that Almoutasim Almaskery works, it would be patiently. The Omani photographer 34, who is represented by the Empty Quarter Gallery in Dubai, can take several years to complete a series of work.

 He began his first series, on a pearl diving, while studying for his BFA in Photography at the American University in Dubai, at the time the only BFA in Photography offered by an institution in the Gulf. He currently has three projects on the go and will only exhibit works when he is fully satisfied with his results.

“In my opinion, all the great photographers that I have worked with really take their time. They will not be rushed. For me, photography is my life so I don’t mind committing endless hours to any project. It doesn’t feel like work.”

Technically, Almaskery likes to shoot with analogue film. He says it forces him to concentrate and commit himself fully to the subject. It is also this choice that gives the final results such as a classic feel. Even in his street Photography, which Almaskery says he is always thinking about- admitting he never goes anywhere without his camera- he captures an energy in his subjects that makes his images really powerful.

“I like to talk,” he says of his technique. “To take a good photograph you have to get into the soul of the subject, so I talk. That way I become more than a Photographer, I became a therapist and friend. The last thing I do is take the Photograph.”