Next Friday the exhibition Faces and Traces of Jordan will be presented at Casa Árabe in Madrid. presents ethnographic photographs by Ghassan Sela and sculptures by Anees Maani.
The exhibition, which will be open to the public until 29 September, is a collaboration between Casa Árabe, the Jordanian Tourist Office and the Jordanian Embassy.
Due to its location and its history, Jordan represents one of the links of the Middle East. Perhaps best known for its archaeological sites or its spectacular landscapes, it is also distinguished by its colorful craftsmanship and the flavors of its gastronomy. The iconic Petra, the Dead Sea, the bustling capital or the dramatic valley of Wadi Rum are just a few glimpses that show the passage of civilizations and the diversity that are part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. And just as the orography of a country can reveal secrets about its geological evolution, they say that the lives of some people are written in the folds of their faces.
In the first part of this exhibition, Casa Arabe invites you to explore the rich legacy that emerges from the culture and history of this country through the faces of its people. Photographer Ghassan Sela has traveled throughout the kingdom to photograph a variety of people: from northern farmers to nomads, Chechens, Circassians, Druze, Copts or Orthodox, to name a few. Each portrait reveals a unique story that makes up the Jordanian mosaic.
The second part of the exhibition is dedicated to the sculptures of Anees Maani. The work of Maani, a Jordanian sculptor based in Catalonia, explores the evolution of forms in nature and human culture. They are traces, vestiges, indications of distant events. The artist, raised in the vicinity of the country’s best-known archaeological site, Petra, investigates the history of these formations and observes their growth and decline. It focuses particularly on the different materials used and the effects of the environment; what forms they occur and why they gain notoriety in different contexts or in different organisms.
