Zad Alkhayal

Beyond What the Eyes Could See –
Photography of the Unseen

The works of photographer Abdel Hakim Mostafa take us to enchanted worlds, where we become one with what we may think is not part of us; from stones to trees. In full dexterity that might go unnoticed, his hidden lens shows us the unseen dimension of what we see. This is not an easy job; photography is the closest art to our visual reality that we use to explore the forms that belong to the world that surrounds us in manners that fit our social contexts. Maybe it is what jumps first to the viewer’s mind. What is it that we see? A house, a person, a horse or a sea? This might be enough for a spectator, who would move to another work, recalling what they are familiar with or what is visually common knowledge.

Some of Mostafa’s work might evoke animal or human shapes from the desert, but contemplating his works is what will take you to faraway land , as through his lens, he presents us with forms and structures that separate themselves from the common visual hustle in a minimalism that dives deep into the cosmic essence, revealing the symmetry and similarity between our formative and tectonic foundations and those of stones, trees and Other elements of nature. This symmetry – and the subliminal identification that follows – is what the ancient Egyptian realized and used as a foundation for the language they created to express the unity of the universe with all its creatures, living and non-living. It is what they used in their visual art to express the underlying essence of impressionistic reality.

Mostafa’s photographs do not seek to be beautiful in the common sense of the word. They do not dream of being beautiful enough to be hung on walls in our living rooms. They are photographs that enjoy visual aesthetics driven from calming symmetry, clever design and balanced visual engineering. And through the gracious aesthetics that draw you into their deep waters and the relationship between light and shadow, darkness and brightness, the near and far, the enclosed and vast spaces, waves of emotions burst into us, taking us straight to the empty desert or cascading sea. Here, no noise could disturb the silence. Here, no scent is too strong. Here, tranquility is free of any anxiety. It is a place emanating from the imagination that has severed its ties with its natural foundations.

Mostafa’s works carry within them quiet contemplation, spirituality without hierarchy and an aesthetic vision without excessive embellishments. Behind the calm aesthetics and the feelings of contentment and serenity, there lies ample space for deep reflection on the essence of existence and the relationship between image and reality, and even the virtuality of reality and its relationship with imagination; imagina!on as the photographer sees it: in our journey through the universe. We see it from within ourselves or through the memories that shape us and our existence.

Dr. Fekri Hasan
22 September 2022

Translated by: Sarah El Sebaye