“Everyone is a hero” (Post 26)

During October 2014 I decided it was time to visit the old city again with my camera and I had a mission on my mind: I wanted to do portrait studies, but I needed photographs of people. I intended to simply approach the people I would find and ask them if they would allow me to photograph them. Many of my friends told me that I could not go and that taking photographs of people was not really appreciated in that location. I decided I would still venture there and I would politely ask the men I meet if I could take their portrait; taking photographs of women was really out of the question. I was delighted by the men’s responses. I think I took about 100 portraits and only two people did not want to have their portraits taken. The men who come to work in Jeddah are mostly from Yemen, Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Egypt, to name but a few.

As I was walking through the streets of the old city and I was photographing these friendly people, an idea formed in my mind, which related to the theme of a possible future exhibition I could have: Everyone is a Hero. When one takes portraits of people, one gets to appreciate another human being for a split second and one can interact with a stranger on a tender level; the presence of the camera allows both people to lower their guards, even though a device is between the photographer and the subject. Life is moving at a fast pace and we do not normally have much time to appreciate each other’s lives and efforts but as I was interacting with my subjects I thought that in most cases most of us (simply vulnerable people) are doing our utmost best and that is why we can say: “Everyone is a hero,” even though everyone feels occasionally like an unsung hero and perhaps a little “ignored”.

So, with this wealth of visual references I started with my painting process. I used the mouth-airbrush for the background and then I used some Arabic patterns over parts of it and then I stared the spout-drawings. This time the spout drawing technique was done in various stages with different colours and variations on the theme. I decided to use gold paint inside the eyes to show their dignity, or esteem in which each one should be held – and I put a golden line halo-effect around each head.

I spent about two years to create a series of 20 portraits and as you can see it was a tedious task, but I photographed or documented the various stages well. Once the portraits were done, I did indeed have the exhibition entitled: Everyone is a Hero during May 2016. The reason for choosing this particular portrait is because the gentleman I depicted here was a photographer’s dream. He gave me all the time I needed and he looked the camera soulfully in the “eye”. It is a pity I could not speak his language, because he must have a story of personal bravery.

The next paragraph is an excerpt from the brochure we printed for the exhibition. 'Each life has a divine course and one never truly understands the ways of God, but I think He sent me to Jeddah to open my eyes to the beauty that lay hidden in a foreign land, Saudi Arabia, and He wanted me to see the treasures within foreign people who surround me daily. My life was touched and enriched by them – each one a hero in his or her own way – and I was blessed by their company and in many cases, sincere friendship'.

Let us take the time to see the hero in our fellow man or woman, because we expect them to see the hero in us.