SANATORIUM presents Farah Al Qasimi's first solo exhibition in Istanbul, titled Desert Hyacinth. Curated by Ulya Soley the exhibition takes place from September 12 to October 26, 2025.
Working primarily across photography, video, and music, Farah Al Qasimi places Desert Hyacinth (2025) at the center of the exhibition, lending both its title and spirit to the show. The desert hyacinth, a steadfast plant native to the Middle East and North Africa, thrives in sandy and arid environments, producing delicate star-shaped white flowers. Its persistence in the face of extreme conditions mirrors the resilience of communities that continue to survive and assert their presence under challenging sociopolitical contexts.
Desert Hyacinth unfolds as an immersive photographic installation on the gallery's ground floor. Expansive, large-scale prints stretch across the walls, creating a backdrop for a selection of images drawn from Al Qasimi's ongoing series, photographed in the United Arab Emirates since 2021. Fleeting metaphors, clandestine encounters behind closed doors, the struggle to resist internalizing a climate of fear under constant surveillance and control, interiors and exteriors, the inside and outside of the body; all coalesce through photographs displayed side by side and layered upon one another. Often free from the overt presence of the camera's gaze, these images evoke the sensation of viewing a city from above while simultaneously focusing on its most intimate details.
Working primarily across photography, video, and music, Farah Al Qasimi places Desert Hyacinth (2025) at the center of the exhibition, lending both its title and spirit to the show. The desert hyacinth, a steadfast plant native to the Middle East and North Africa, thrives in sandy and arid environments, producing delicate star-shaped white flowers. Its persistence in the face of extreme conditions mirrors the resilience of communities that continue to survive and assert their presence under challenging sociopolitical contexts.
Desert Hyacinth unfolds as an immersive photographic installation on the gallery's ground floor. Expansive, large-scale prints stretch across the walls, creating a backdrop for a selection of images drawn from Al Qasimi's ongoing series, photographed in the United Arab Emirates since 2021. Fleeting metaphors, clandestine encounters behind closed doors, the struggle to resist internalizing a climate of fear under constant surveillance and control, interiors and exteriors, the inside and outside of the body; all coalesce through photographs displayed side by side and layered upon one another. Often free from the overt presence of the camera's gaze, these images evoke the sensation of viewing a city from above while simultaneously focusing on its most intimate details.
