Matthew Sutherland

Main Gallery

Drawing Biennale
(an open show with selection
and prizes)

Oriel Fach

Drawings and video by
Jessie Brennan

 

On the stairs

Hidden Treasures of the Hejaz

22 October to 27 November

I have always had an interest in photography, taking personal photographs and then moving into projects in my teenage years. I have a BA (Hons) degree in Photography from Nottingham Trent University. I am currently studying for my MA in Photography and Contemporary Dialogues at Swansea Metropolitan University.
This collection of photographs was taken on a journey in the Hejaz, Saudi Arabia, starting from the north of the country near the border with Jordan and travelling south to Madinah (I could not enter Madinah itself due to Islamic law). I travelled through the desert, following the route of the Hejaz railway with a Bedouin guide. The trip took over four days, which included camping in the desert. The reason for the trip comes from my interest in 20th century military history, further solidified by David Lean’s film Lawrence of Arabia and my upbringing in Saudi Arabia. The railway I travelled along was the very one Lawrence and the Arabs were attacking during World War I, to disrupt the Ottomans’ supply lines. The railway also passes through Madain Saleh, built in the time of the Nabateans. Madain Saleh is the capital of the south and Petra the capital of the north.
Although the mode of transport may have changed since Lawrence’s time, there is still a sense of romanticism travelling through a barren land, enjoying the isolation and peace of what the desert beholds, then discovering the forts and train wreckages that have been relatively untouched since the 1920s. It brings a sense of finding a hidden treasure even though strictly speaking it is not.

All the photographs were taken on either a Pentax 6 x 7 film camera or Pentax 35 mm film camera.

Prices
£135 mounted and framed or £90 mounted

Details
Matthew Sutherland • Rhandir • Tenby Road • St Clears • Carmarthenshire • SA33 4JN
Telephone: 07540436613 or 01994 230479
Email: matthewtsutherland@hotmail.co.uk