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Revealing 'Kuwait in a 1000 Words" [Kuwait Times](Kuwait Times Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Strolling along the beach on the Gulf Road or absentmindedly window shopping at the Avenues, have you ever looked at the people around you and wondered what was going on in their heads? American filmmaker Timothy Carr, with his Facebook and Instagram pages "Kuwait in a 1000 Words", is answering just that question. At a recent artists' gathering in Shuwaikh, Carr moves innocuously between the tables in the little room, clutching his camera at the ready. Carr is the media and marketing manager for Cozmo Bowling and local graffiti artist Mohammed Abu Hakmeh, aka Monstariam, and collects the stories and photos for "Kuwait in a 1000 Words" in his spare time. He is also the man behind TJC Films, creating documentaries and videos for Kuwait and US-based non-profits, dance crews and sports teams. His Facebook page has more than 1400 followers and he's posted around 80 to 100 photos of people in Kuwait. "Kuwait in a 1000 Words" paints a picture of Kuwait through portraits of its residents and their stories. From graffiti artists to janitors to firemen, the portraits offer a glimpse into the private lives of a wide spectrum of Kuwait's society. "I want to show people all sides of Kuwait," Carr says. "When I go back to the States, people there have a really stereotypical view about this part of the world. It would get on my nerves. The Arab culture is not as close-minded as we in the US think. There's art here, and a lot of fun things to do if you just go out and find them." Man on the street portraits Like the famous "Humans of New York (HONY)" website, Carr's work is a modern reiteration of an old journalistic tool: the man on the street interview. While the technique has been traditionally used to document the "vox populi" on an issue, today's social-media driven initiatives focus more on the individual's story. HONY, created by New York-based photographer Brandon Stanton in November 2010, captures the lives of ordinary New Yorkers through questions about their happiest and saddest memories, their dreams and their regrets. Since then, similar projects-from "Portraits of Boston" to "Humans of Tehran" – showcasing the personal aspect of some of the world's most populous cities, have taken off across the globe. Stanton is currently posting portraits from the DR Congo, as part of a UN-sponsored world tour to promote the Millennium Development Goals, having already visited Iraq and Jordan. Carr is currently in Lebanon, hoping to post portraits from a friend's wedding over the next few days. Subcultures of Kuwait While HONY continues to reveal New York to the rest of the world, "Kuwait in a 1000 Words" has been an eye opener even to those of us who've lived in the Gulf state for years. Khaled, a young Kuwaiti featured on the page, enjoys Carr's posts because, "it shows a different point of view." "I'm full Kuwaiti. I went to a government school. I didn't really see the other side of Kuwait until recently. That's why I really like what he's doing." To Lubna, whose portrait also appears on the page, "most powerful were the [portraits] on the subcultures of Kuwait. He paints a fabric of what people see and don't see and choose not to see." The most popular post so far has in fact been one of a Syrian ice-cream vendor in Khairan. Feedback But while many of those Carr has featured may find the idea behind the page "beautiful," not everyone takes well to being photographed by a stranger in Kuwait. Often, people simply refuse, Carr says. "Kuwait, the Arab culture, is a lot more private. That's also why I don't have a lot of women up there. They don't want their family or friends seeing. But I do have some." He even has people occasionally changing their minds and later asking him to take down their portraits. When asked why he doesn't post as often as Stanton and others do, Carr says," he's right in the heart of New York City. There are 50 people in any direction he looks." Sometimes people are shy."I'm a behind the camera kind of person…. But sometimes I've got to nudge them," Carr says. From the subjects' perspective, the challenge may be a little different. Fay was "hesitant because [she] didn't know what was going on." Nour thought it was just a matter of choosing the right people. Lubna was concerned about sounding, "contrived and not authentic." Kuwait is brown When people ask, Carr says "'Kuwait is brown; the buildings are brown, the sky is brown." But to Monstariam, Carr's page, "focuses on the regular man and woman."" You know most of the media covers celebrities and we tend to forget about the regular person…There is a huge segregation here in Kuwait. I hope it will change eventually. And Tim's page really helps." By Batul K Sadliwala All rights reserved. (c) 2014 Kuwait Times Newspaper Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |