Photography Exhibition THE CITY OF WOMEN (5th Edition)
THE PRESENTATION
We are pleased to present the 5th edition of Online Photography Exhibitions at Tati Space, with the Theme THE CITY OF WOMEN. Since the beginning of March, for almost 3 months, we opened the call for submission to participate in the Exhibition. We named it THE CITY OF WOMEN because we wanted to see how the photography can represent the Female Universe in today’s urban society.
Women constitute half of the population and of the workforce in the planet, yet they are underrepresented in decision-making, much less in the decisions of the city, which has historically been designed and built by men to serve a patriarchal society. A trend that continues today, even in the most modern societies. The issue is how women behave and are adopted in such a society. And who can show this better than a photograph.
We are happy that to our invitation have been responded many artists from different parts of the world: Ukraine, Albania, Brazil, Japan, Kosovo, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Russia, Bangladesh, Egypt, etc. Among them, we have selected 15 artists, hoping that in addition to the aesthetic values, the photographs will reveal to you familiar and experienced moments of the female universe.
Hope you will enjoy them all, as we did!
Curator
Alketa Misja
Author: Olha Lobazova
Country: Ukraine
Title of Series: Stress And Strain
Place: Berlin, year 2022/2023.
Description: Stress and Strain are the two terms in Physics that describe the forces causing the deformation of objects. Deformation is known as the change of the shape of an object by applications of force. The object experiences it due to external forces; for example, the forces might be like squeezing, squashing, twisting, shearing, ripping, or pulling the objects apart.
The series is a reflection on my anxiety, anger and helplessness caused by immigration, war and bringing a new life into this world during these times. With the necessity to keep up with all the traumatic events there is an enormous unreleased stress which causes the deformation of my mind and body. This story is about me watching my own self destruction.
Links of Autor:
Author: Victoria Likholyot
Country: Ukraine (Berlin based)
Title of Series: Lollipop
Description: This is an attempt to highlight the representation of women with a male gaze. The series is a color irony, an absurdization of female objectification in urban spaces - posters, advertisements, signs, city lights and so on.
Links of the author:
Author: Bia Serranoni
Country: Brazil
Title: Unusual Landscapes
The series "Unusual Landscapes" is born with the intent to represent the hostile relationship of the city with the women's universe, in view of all the threats it poses to the female bodies.
The city scares, inhibits, blames, and imprisons women. We don't feel safe in the external world, and we don't feel welcomed. The cities were built by men and for their circulation and, therefore, were not designed for our bodies, placing the city as another element of oppression for the female universe. This masculine conception of the metropolis contributes to a complex relationship between women and the city, influenced by several factors such as safety, accessibility, privacy, and especially representativeness, making this space associated with a gender issue.
In this scenario, this work builds a visual/sensorial narrative from the superposition of two images, one always of an urban space and a second one of some element that can cause a rupture, a fissure in this space in which we women must always circulate carefully, because it presents itself as a threat.
Links of the author:
Author: Atsumi Takemoto.
Title: Cactus
Place: Shibuya,Tokyo, Japan
Description: The flower language of cactus is "Love that does not wither", "Burning heart" and "Warm heart". A cactus that continues to live without withering even in tropical areas. I dedicate to the women with powerful eyes I found in Tokyo.
Links of the author:
Author: Roman Kosh.
Title: Golden Age
Place: Russia, 2023.
Description: “I am not a tale you can tell, I am not a song you can sing, I am not a sound you can hear, I am neither this you can see nor that you can know. I am a common pain, cry me out.” - Ahmad Shamlu
The photo titled "Gold" is one of the main ones in the "Golden Age" series (Spontaneous portraits of elderly people. Captured mainly in trains and stations during my travel in Russia, 2022/2023).
Links of the author:
© Roman Kosh, Gold
Author: Jahid Apu
Title of Series: Three Episodes of her gaze
Place: Bangladesh (2021-2022)
Description of the series:
Three stories about three women from Bangladesh, a third-world nation country, where poverty and social exclusion frequently consume precious lives.
Photo 1: 65-year-old Rahima Khatun (formerly from a village in Bangladesh), spent most of her life in jail because she was imprisoned over a false case. As a result of her release, neither society nor her family came forward to support her. In her twilight years, now a poor and helpless individual, she kept herself alive through her own efforts. For less than $2 a day, she works in a lentil factory from dawn to dusk. When I asked her about her life, she smiled and said, "I didn't realize I would be this alone at this point in my life. I had a happy and well-organized life until one single incident ruined it. The only thing I want in life at this age is my family. I want to live with my family until I die."
Photo 2: Asia Begum 50 years old women, works in Bangladesh's small chili pepper mill, for less than USD 1 (Taka 95) 12 hours a day. She came from a village to work downtown, but all the factories were closed after the lockdown, and it became difficult for her to survive. Since the lifting of the lockdown, she has been working all day long from dawn to dusk at the mill seven days a week, hoping for better days. Even though she receives a little wage, she lives like a queen of her world with her head held high.
Photo 3: A madrasah (Islamic school) student is enjoying the pouring rain in front of her madrasah while preserving her hijab after the class break. In Islam, women are generally seen as covering everything except their hands and feet. This outstanding inclusion of freedom and courage in the rain by a young teenager from a small town in Bangladesh reveals her inner beauty, conflict, and strength at the same time.
Links of the author:
Author: Amal Yassin AbdelAzeem Aglan
Country, Egypt
Description: A series of portraits of elderly women who, in order to make a living, have decided to sell different items in the city market
Title 1: Color Seller, Place: Al-Moez Street in Cairo
Title 2: Fish lady, Place: Disouq City, Cairo
Title 3: Loads Lady, Place: Tanta city, Gharbia governorate, Cairo
Title 4: Tea Seller, Place: Farahda district in Alexandria - Egypt
Links of the author:
Author: Rozafa Shpuza
Place: Shkoder, Albania
Title: The characters of my City
Description: The city swings in the dawn and dusk every day, non-stop, no matter what the seasons or their whims... And in this surreal swing, the women are the ones who make sure that never stops the lullaby that soothes the soul of the city. That's why this mine can very well be called the "City of Women". Women weave, women feed children, women sing, women are everywhere from dawn to dusk. When I turn on the camera and fix the portrait of a woman, I have said it all. The portrait of a woman with the background of the city conveys a strong message, conveys the mysteries of the city, conveys its loves and hates, conveys its joys and pains. Thus, my photographs reach their emotional climax when the camera is directed to the women who gave the city its name.
Links of the author:
Author: Karin Majoka
Title: Smile despite the rain
Place: Düsseldorf, Germany
Description: I took this image during an event called "Japan Day" in Düsseldorf (Germany) in May 2023 right when the weather swifted from sunny skies to heavy rain within seconds. And with that also the mood of most visitors changed since many people suddenly started running in panic to flee from the rain. Just as I was about to pack away my camera to have it proteced from the rain as well - I caught this moment. The woman in the hidschāb did not only stay calm but also still had a smile on her face despite the rain. Further, her smile had the power to infect other people around her to join. For me this small fraction of a moment is a representation of the ability women have to stay positive despite the unexpected negative occurances in life.
© Karin Majoka, Smile despite the rain
Author: Fred Maro
Title: Rumor Mill
Place: Cologne / Germany
Description: An amazing typical scene to be seen quite often: The secret news channels of women
Links of the author: Website
© Fred Maro, Rumor Mill
Author: MIchal Čáp
Country: Czech Republic
Title: Siesta
Place: Trutnov, Czech Republic
Description: The photo of my friend represents the hustle and bustle of today's times. Sometimes you just need to relax for a while, quietly in the middle of the city.
Links of the author:
© MIchal Čáp, Siesta
Author: David Pujado
Title: Female Power
Place: Prague
Description: This photograph was shot to Elvira one evening in the city of Prague when we were going to do another shooting. We passed in front the shop and I was amazed, we asked the woman in the shop and very happily accepted that we took as many photos as we wished. Elvira, with her imaginary army of Elviras were ready to take the city of Prague
Links of the author:
© David Pujado, FemalePower
Author: Klevisa Bardeli
Country: Albania
Title: "Light from the Abyss"
Place: Shkodër
Description: The photo contains the message for the woman, the difficulties of living in a harsh reality, where despite everything she manages to be a beautiful and powerful woman at the same time.
Links of author:
Author: Steven Kruit
Title: The Surfing Girl
Place: Beach of Cox's Bazar in the South of Bangladesh.
Description: The beautiful beaches of Bangladesh (South East Asia) are known for their natural beauty and they are one of the longest in the world. A lot of development, education and women empowerment is ongoing, but still a lot of people are challanged to earn enough income. The local people living in small primitive tin shed settlements in the forrests on the beach, mostly live from fishing. Most of the males are fishermen and they leave very early morning in their small wooden fishing boats to the sea, the Bay of Bengal. The women in the village are running an education system, schooling, and take care of the village. As a result the girls have much more freedom to choose their own hobbies and decide on their own future. The kids live with the sea, and some of the girls have started to pick up surfing as a hobby. From the age of 6 they teach eachother how to swim, and from the age of 11 they start surfing the waves.
Links of the author:
© Steven-Kruit, The Surfing Girl