“It can be uncomfortable yet at the same time beautiful to connect with strangers.”
Like many Dubai expats, Slovenian photographer Marta Lamovsek ended up here almost by accident.
When she was brought out from London for a one-off job five years ago, Lamovsek quickly became fascinated by the city and the mix of people who call it home. A keen observer of city life, she found a lot here that caught her eye – particularly in Satwa and old Dubai.
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And it was that neighbourhood which was the starting point for her ongoing series Plastic Garden. In November 2016, Lamovsek was in Satwa looking for materials for another project when she spotted a young Pakistani man leaning against a traffic light and texting.
“He got my attention at once with his leaned pose, [he was standing in a] very graceful way,” she remembers. “I felt this powerful urge and although I never done this to an stranger on the street before, I decided to ask him straight away if he would be willing to make a portrait session with me.”
With a bit of translation help from a bystander, Lamovsek and the young man, named Khaled, arranged to meet the next week.
While they worked, she asked Khaled to hold a flower, and the project was born. It was a magic moment, Lamovsek says.
“There was almost a mystical energy about him, a calmness, rare nowadays… It was beautiful to be around him.”
Lamovsek, who also does fashion photography, started spending more and more of her spare time in Satwa seeking out men who had that same energy and gave her a sense of “grace, kindness, [and a] beautiful soul within.”
The initial explanation can be awkward and difficult, with both the language barrier and the difficulty of approaching a stranger, but with results like this, Lamovsek’s efforts are more than worth it.
“It’s rewarding because when I find the right subject and start to speak with him, it can be uncomfortable yet at the same time beautiful to connect with strangers,” she says.
The portraits are stunning – full of colour and emotion. Lamovsek’s subjects look like matinee idols and their direct gaze down the camera is arresting.
They were a hit at a group show she took part in in October, and now Lamovsek has two galleries in Pakistan interested in hosting a solo show. Her goal is to have a show here in Dubai by the end of the year, and to then take it to London.
We’re thinking that’s very much within her reach.
Marta Lamovsek on her favourite photographs
“This is the recent portrait I am most proud of. I felt its iconic quality in the second I shoot it – it gave me goosebumps. His name, Ashiq, means lover in Arabic. I brought Ashiq to the [October group] show… The moment when he saw exhibition and his portrait totally rocking it, I saw pride in his eyes it was the most beautiful feeling in the whole world. He is pure inspiration!”
“Imran was the gardener of my boyfriend’s villa when I first met him. When I gave him a printed portrait, he had a huge smile on his face. His face is by now one of the ‘trademarks’ of my series, and I also brought him to the show. Afterwards he told me someone recognised him on the street.”
“[This is] Mahsan, one of my favorite models in Dubai, with that pure grace and elegance… We did this one in my backyard and it reminds me of 90s supermodels era.”
Images: Marta Lamovsek/Supplied
