“I create to know myself better”: Abdulaziz Al-hosni’s recent series explores the self through colour

Every single one of Abdulaziz Al-hosni’s images tells a story. Meticulously planned, styled and shot, each one feels as though it could be a short from a film, an integral moment in an engrossing narrative. But beyond the beauty of Abdulaziz’s work, that grabs you so quickly, there lies a more important goal for the Muscat-based photographer, the desire to use his photography to “create a space for vulnerability to flourish and thrive”.

When we first met Abdulaziz back in 2022, the central goal of his work was much the same – to create a colourful world where the rules of masculinity are pulled apart and questioned, and where being in touch with your emotions reigns supreme. While his intentions might be similar, his images have got tighter, and his storyline more streamlined. The title of the series Qalb Mahmood doubles up as a fictional character, omnipresent through the whole series, being, at the same time, both no one and everyone featured, an embodiment of the struggles, codes and structures placed on everyone, in some form or another.

While presenting situations and feelings many will relate to, Qalb Mahmood is, importantly, a means of self expression for Abdulaziz too. “I create to know myself better; I’m simply communicating with something within,” he says. One of the primary means through which he does this is colour, using each shade and hue to “categorise” each emotion and feeling. Colour serves as the primary starting point for each image – Abdulaziz begins by carefully selecting each, then labelling them with a corresponding emotion. He then sketches the idea for a scene on paper or his iPad – this planning and visualisation helping to realise the often grand and otherworldly composition of each shot. This close attention to detail expands into the finer points of his visual world, with every single prop you see having been designed for purpose.

This combination of attentiveness to colour and the significance of objects shines in the shot I am a work of art, which shows the model Almas in a bright dishdasha robe and kufi hat. “I used red because red is the highest sphere of love in my spectrum,” says Abdulaziz. But, the use of colour is never one-dimensional, and the broken hearts shown on the kufi indicate so. “[Red] screams love, but also cruelty, a fine line that separates them,” Abdulaziz continues.

Abdulaziz didn’t focus solely on colour, however, as Qalb Mahmood features fleeting moments of black and white, contrasting starkly with the saturated colours. “I introduced black-and-white in my works to express what hasn’t been expressed, what is hidden, what is oppressed by whatever other motive or emotion,” says Abdulaziz. In 3?, two figures are shown from behind, smoking a pipe, only half of their faces visible. The black-and-white tones add a mysterious element to the more withdrawn, secretive image – it becomes a noticeable outlier in the series, leaving questions of its significance and meaning in its wake.

Recently, Abdulaziz collaborated with WeTransfer on an exhibition in Amsterdam, his first exhibition in Europe. On the exhibition, Abdulaziz says that “expanding” his borders has been a pleasure, allowing him to bring his work to new audiences and communicating Qalb Mahmood’s message of acceptance, but leaving the means by which he does so to the audience – “it’s a dictionary, a guide, whatever you want it to be”, he says. Overall, for Abdulaziz, the series is “nothing but a reminder to be authentic” – he wants it to help you put heart over head, and let emotions lead the way.