Bio

Almoutasim Almaskery (b. 1981, Muscat, Oman) is a contemporary visual artist and fine art photographer. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from the American University in Dubai. Overcoming personal challenges such as dyslexia, he developed photography as a visual language to explore deep themes like identity, tradition, gender, and memory.

He often works with analog film, favoring black-and-white imagery to express stillness, symbolism, and emotional depth.

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Art Exhibitions (Selected)

- The Empty Quarter Gallery, Dubai – WO-MAN series exhibition (2012)

- Gulf Photo Plus, Dubai

- Tribe Photo Magazine (Issue feature)

- International group exhibitions in:

- Paris

- New York

- Arizona

- Washington D.C.

- Sharjah Art Foundation (group shows)

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Artistic Style

- Medium: Primarily black-and-white analog photography

- Approach: Minimalist, conceptual, symbolic

- Subjects: Omani culture, gender roles, masks, tradition, and forgotten labor (e.g. pearl divers)

- Mood: Quiet, contemplative, emotionally restrained

[4:15 PM, 7/3/2025] +18002428478: - Techniques: Use of dual portraits, contrast, fog, and isolation to create narrative ambiguity

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Notable Works

- WO-MAN (2012) – Gender identity and cultural symbols through reversed roles.

- Borqo Project – Traditional Omani face masks as metaphors of identity and perception.

- Pearl Divers – Dancing with Death – Tribute to the lives of Gulf pearl divers.

- Beyond the Fog – A study of Dhofar’s mysticism and environment during Khareef.

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Influences

- Cultural heritage of Oman and the Gulf

- Gender discourse and social constructs

- Environmental moods (fog, sea, desert)

- Conceptual photographers like:

- Shirin Neshat (for gender/political themes)

- Sebastião Salgado (for human labor and monochrome depth)

- Andreas Gursky (in visual minimalism and framing)

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