Foreign Landscapes

Tamer El Aswad

Exposure 105, photography and digital media, 2018

Using photography and digital manipulation to create dream-like worlds, Tamer El Aswad’s artworks are projections of his inner self. Each landscape is an expression of differing perceptions of reality - living between two worlds of light and dark. Each world holds a floating rock formation, akin to Aswad’s fascination with textures from nature such as rock, wood, water. This rock-like object is a directionless form that signifies liquidity and solidity at the same time; floating in an attempt to seek silence from the complexities of one’s mind, of beliefs, ideologies, and passing daily thoughts.

Foreign Landscapes creates a frigid illusion of time and space, an expression of Aswad’s momentary perception of life in black and white. These manifestations of reality, which differ from person to person, are attempts to understand and analyze the act of being human. In humanity, one accepts that life is a constant journey of discovery. Aswad believes that we never truly know ourselves, no matter how many books we read, films we watch, ideologies we follow, religions we pray for. He asks, “Should one find the light, or should one experience darkness in order to find truth?”    

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In 1987, Tamer El Aswad was born in Amman, Jordan, where he received his B.Sc in Maintenance Engineering from the German Jordanian University in 2011. Aswad currently works as a videographer, photographer, designer, and editor at Izif.com, an online music school for the Arab World.