Head in the Clouds

Unlike most traditional portraiture, the subjects in Farah Al Qasimi’s photograph Living Room Vape 2016 are somewhat camouflaged. One sits with his head in a cloud of vapour, another stands by the edge of the frame, body turned away from the camera. Exactly whose living room we’re in is unclear.

It’s all part of the enigma of Al Qasimi’s photographs, which seem to resist the confines of any one style or place: richly detailed Persian textiles adorn the space, alongside a display of porcelain vases and what appears to be a European landscape painting. Here, Baroque extravagance meets editorial gleam. But to Al Qasimi, the setting is typical of an Emirati home, where years of Western influence have trickled into Gulf standards of taste – something which is often referred to as the ‘post-colonial hangover’.

^{Living Room Vape was purchased with funds provided by the Middle East and North Africa Acquisitions Committee in 2022 and will soon be on display at Tate Modern.}