Houston-based photographer Eldar Guliyev turned his lens to the Liberian people for his series “Redemption,” now on exhibit at the Russian Cultural Center. Exploring the effects of the current Ebola outbreak, Guliyev’s black-and-white photographs show the faces of victims of the disease, the medical personnel trying to stop its spread and the healthy Liberians coping with the situation around them. Guliyev captured the images at Redemption Hospital, a large, free facility in the country’s capital, Monrovia, and at several rural clinics.
Given the subject, it would be easy to think the series is made up of dramatic images of suffering. Instead, Guliyev’s photos show Liberians with a calm sense of dignity and perseverance. One picture shows a small boy, his cheeks full and round. Another image shows an adolescent boy whose arms and legs seem almost skeletal while his stomach is swollen and protruding. Neither is smiling; instead, each seems to project a sense of quiet caution. One of the most striking images in the series shows two small boys, twins, crouching in an empty field. They scowl and look into the camera. How has the disease affected them? We don’t know, of course, but its impact seems to have been costly; there’s a sense of weariness in their faces.
There’s an opening reception at 7:30 p.m. on December 12. Regular gallery hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Through February 14. Russian Cultural Center Our Texas, 2337 Bissonnet. For information, call 713‑395‑3301 or visit ourtx.org. Free.
Mondays-Fridays, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Mondays-Fridays, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Starts: Dec. 12. Continues through Feb. 14, 2014
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2014.
