Green surroundings and fine sandy beaches, the Bahrain-based photographer, Camille Zakharia, could have focused on the commonplace attractions of Salalah. But fascinated by his encounter with the people, he has covered the whole Dhofar region, and shares with l’Agenda the first photographs that will be in Al Bilad (‘The Country’), a photography book about the Sultanate of Oman to be published in 2010.

Mostly known for its largest city, Salalah, the Dhofar region on the border with Yemen also constitutes an exception, with its unique climate, history and culture.

Dhofar is the only region of the Sultanate of Oman that experiences the Monsoon, known as Khareef in Arabic. The inhabitants, some of whom still belong to nomadic tribes, thus organise their lives around water by building a sophisticated irrigation system.

“I felt this as an awakening, a healthy encounter.” Touched by the traditional lifestyles of these communities, far from the urban boom in the rest of the Gulf, Camille Zakharia wanted to capture these moments of life that expose the unique relationship these fishermen and farmers have with water, with family and with clan. “You observe that people are very content, happy at a time when we don’t know what we want and we always want more, but those people are so centred, so rooted.” You need to focus only on their eyes to understand their serene rapport with their environment.

Respecting the humanist tradition of photographers such as Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau or Willy Ronis, who expose the infinitely human, Camille Zakharia, turning away from his recent collages and photomontages, returns to the documentary style. “I love it because of this genuine sentiment. It’s a simple, straightforward style, but they (the images) carry all that you need.”

Beyond an obvious sociological interest, Camille Zakharia’s work also reveals the authenticity of the people he captures on camera, fed by his personal touch. “I work without zoom, so I have to be very intimate with the person. If I feel there is no trust, I do not take the picture.” The shots of Dhofar and of other regions of Oman have been carefully selected for the Al Bilad book. Both educational and moving, the photographs are loaded with the artist’s recurrent themes: environmental protection, identity, a perpetually changing world. Al Bilad reminds us that we are world citizens. “The preservation of water is a very sensitive subject and this project is applicable to the entire world.”

“Following each drop of water from the mountains to the sea,” Camille Zakharia’s photographs with Jamal Al Moosawi Hassanovich’s text take us to the people, the architecture, the landscapes, the traditions, the urbanisation...the essence of humanity.

Stéphanie Ravel (Translation - Hélène Poirier)

To see more of Camille Zakharia's work, please log on www.camillezakharia.com