Recently, I can finally talk about my experiment in the stream of photography and Pinhole Camera. In the time of digital art and Hi technology life style, we lose many concepts that mostly relate to the artist himself, his abilities and believes.
I like to interfere in my art work so I control its core, I don't let myself move with buttons (at the moment, frankly speaking). In my photography the getaway to have this concept achieved.
I can't really say that I use Pinhole Camera to make photographs, it's more like recording a moment to take much longer time, rather than freezing it in one second shot.
And because I like the idea of controlling the camera manufacturing, and the film developing besides having my own touch; i get to have the produced photos not to look like still shots photography, but more like paintings and charcoal drawings or even sometimes manipulated photos.
Materials that I used to collect for my paintings and book art are still loading my chests and waiting for the proper time every now and then to get out.
But Pinhole Camera photography for me, is the door to be free coming in and out the souls of objects, humans, history and documenting the moments of now.
As an African and Arab living by the Mediterranean, I have a multicultural window helped a lot in forming my mentality and opinions. In my country, it’s a bit difficult to identify ones direction in art, because one might like to paint in the time he gets a very hard criticism that may change his direction or may forces him to even stop, same as the person who would like to make photography, because it’s easier in explaining the composition mistakes.
It's actually difficult to identify ART at all.
Dahlia Refaat Alexandria, December 2008
