The most precious moment in one’s lifetime is also the most decorated one arguably — both in tangible and intangible forms. In the local Qatari culture, this precious moment has a name, Zabrah or Zabra. It defines the dressing up for special occasions and stems from the very roots of the traditional Qatari heritage, history and identity.
It describes one’s moment of honour, pride and excitement in a specific time and place. If you are interested in understanding different traditions that make Zabra, visit Katara Cultural Village one of these days.
At the outset, you will see sizeable black-and-white photographs with a tinge of gold in them posted on different walls in the cultural complex. Head to Building 19 for the exhibition titled, Zabra, put together by six Qatari artists. Dozens of images produced over a period of more than a year will tell you the story about Zabra.
Heyya al-Mohannadi, Shuaa al-Ghanim, Abdulla Ali al-Mannai, Fatma Rashid al-Abdalla, Maryam al-Kawaja and Dana al-Khalaf worked hard to make these photographs talk to their viewers. And they have succeeded to a large extent. For instance, one picture shows a hand tuning a radio. Besides an audio system producing the actual radio sounds placed beneath the picture, the actual objects in the picture resonate with the viewer. It takes you back in time, instantly.
“The radio used to be an essential object in every Qatari home. It was the medium through which our families connected to the world. “From Cairo”, was one of the phrases that our parents were listening while tuning their radio,” is how the artists describe the picture.
What is Zabra and how does the exhibition shed light on it? Abdulla Ali al-Mannai, one of the artists, explains: “Zabra is a very traditional name. Actually, it is like a verb. It means when someone is dressed really well, they say he is ‘Zabr’. It might mean good-looking but at a very high level, very delicately-dressed. Mostly, it is about dressing. However, we can also say in case of somebody buying a new car, that he is ‘zabr’ with his new car,” explains al-Mannai.
Al-Mannai says there are no names of photographers written under any of the photographs because the entire work was a team work, contributed by all six of them. He is the only male among the six participating artists. “Each of the exhibits is a group work or a team work. For example in this picture (pointing to one displayed), from taking the picture to lighting and editing, we have all participated. Even the editing is not done by a single person. It is done half by one and half by another, for instance, but we all knew our target as to how do we want this picture to look like. So we all worked on them together,” says the artist.
How did they come up with this idea? “It was interesting. It was like we were all putting individual ideas in an imaginary box and shaking it to blend them together to come up with this particular idea. It is mix of different ideas,” says al-Mannai, who is a professional photographer.
Al-Mannai says he is doing photography as a business as well, however, it all started as a hobby.
“This kind of stuff needs an artistic mind. These kinds of photos are challenging as an artist. How to come up with ideas that have never been attempted before and then to execute them for people to see is a challenge in itself and here I am. I like challenging myself,” says al-Mannai.
Each and every picture is produced in an intricate manner, giving attention to every detail, including lighting, effects, positioning of subjects and objects, depth and detail of colours and the overall look.
How did they go about the production of photographs?
“Indeed, this exhibition is like production for us. We had deadlines for different segments of our work. First, we did interviews for our models, to pick the models that we needed. For example, we needed an old man, an old woman, children, a bride and a groom,” says al-Mannai, counting the models featured in the photographs.
They had already decided what they are looking for in each person. In an elderly man, for instance, they wanted him to have an old-fashioned beard and ageing skin for the photograph. This was to create a picture that the viewer can instantly connect with.
Models selected, they went to take photographs. There are some photos that are connected to each other, for instance, the ones showing mothers with the children. So they had to shoot these pictures the same day. The shoots were timed accordingly.
However, the shooting was not done in a single go. Al-Mannai says this project took more than a year, almost 18 months. Right from selecting the models to planning the shoots and then the post-production work of editing and printing them for the exhibition took this much time.
“And we are not going to stop here. We will go bigger and bigger. For now, we have to tell people that here we are. We are six people talking about our community, about our history; the things that people do not know,” says al-Mannai.
“Let me tell you something interesting. It is something that people told us after coming here and seeing this. And it was new for us because as Qataris we did not look at it this way perhaps,” he goes on to add.
“There were some people from America or Europe who told us that it (Zabra exhibition) was something really meaningful for them. Every time they would go to Souq Waqif and they would see these things there, they did not understand their purpose and value because they did not know the story behind it.
“Now, after coming to this exhibition, they know the story and now if they go to Souq Waqif, they know this is something big because there is a very romantic and touching story behind it. So they thanked us,” says the artist.
Al-Mannai says it was heartening to hear this and it made them realise that they have done something for the people.
“We do not want only Qataris to see this. With this, we want our younger generations to learn about our traditions and we want foreigners to see this and understand our culture,” says the artist about the exhibition.
Why is the theme of the photographs black-and-white?
“This is very important point. We have chosen a black-and-white combination because the photographs are talking of an old era and the people from that era are no more. That is why it is black because they do not exist anymore,” explains al-Mannai.
“But the parts of the picture that have colour mean that these things still exist in our culture. These things are still alive. The gold, the ‘Zabra’ itself exists in our culture even if those people are gone. For instance, this ‘Dardala’, the traditional coffee pot, still exists with us and that is why it is coloured in the photograph,” he adds.
The exhibition is underway till January 29 at Building 19, Gallery II at Katara Cultural Complex.
INSIGHT: Six Qatari artists contributed to the Katara exhibition that explains the story behind Zabra. Photos by Umer Nangiana
