Gulf Air supports Bahraini photographer's show in Paris

Initiated by the Bahrain Museum and hosted by the Institute du Monde Arabe, the exhibition, which will be open from 25 September to 5 November 2006, will showcase Bahrain's rich and diverse culture, heritage and history.

Entitled Bahrain: Retrovision, the expo features a collection of mounted photographs Deyana shot over the past 17 years and, a series of dynamic slideshows with a broader range of work, complemented by music. The theme Retrovision evolves from the premise that the present can only be understood in relation to the past.

"Gulf Air, as the national airline of Bahrain and Oman, seizes every opportunity to promote its owner countries' profile abroad, especially by showcasing local talent," says Gulf Air Vice President Marketing and Sales Lee Shave.

"Deyana's photographic and creative talents are well known and what better opportunity can there be than presenting Bahrain through her lens to a Paris audience at this prestigious venue."

The Bahraini artist graduated from St Mary's College in Los Angeles and completed a fine arts degree in photography from Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena, California.

"I believe that photography provides a visual literature for our surroundings. It serves to document and transcribe history, deconstructing and reinventing legends and myths," says Deyana.

"By revealing personal memories and images of my environment, I try to reveal the subtleties and hidden messages that allow for the re-examination of our heritage."

Returning to Bahrain in 1987, she established Ahmadi Photography and has since worked with several local and international companies on major corporate, industrial and advertising assignments in addition to select private commissions, advertising campaigns, print publications, country profiles and other publications.

Deyana has a portfolio of some 40,000 photographs of Bahrain on diverse topics - a veritable source of visual inventory on the history and heritage of the country.

The Institute du Monde Arabe, where the exhibition is being held, is probably one of the best venues worldwide, which attracts more than one million visitors a year, making it one of the ten most visited places in Paris.

Inaugurated in November 1987 by former French President, François Mitterand, the Institute is a multi-cultural collaboration between France, and 22 countries representing the Pan Arab world with an objective to disseminate and cultivate knowledge and understanding of the Arab world, its language and civilisation in France and the greater international community through cultural exchange, communication and interaction between France and the Arab world.