Egyptian Designer Mohamed Fares to Exhibit Phone Photography in London

A seasoned master of design, Mohamed Fares, Chief Designer at Alchemy Design Studio, is no stranger to appreciating beautiful things nor creating beautiful moments. While Fares often spends his days dreaming up scenic interiors, he has long shown an affinity for a different medium of expression: photography. Namely, iPhone photography.

Having captured tens of thousands of photos with his iPhone for over a decade, beginning with the iPhone 3GS, Fares is set to exhibit a curated selection of his iPhone photographs in partnership with Le Lab at London’s 1-54 exhibition from October 10th to the 13th, joining over 60 exhibitors and 160 artists for 1-54’s 12th edition.

'Classical Beauty'

Titled ‘iPhone Series: Life Through My Eyes’, Fares’ photographs are categorised into three distinct categories. ‘The Artist of all Time’ encapsulates natural scenery, capturing “God with his creations,” as Mohamed Fares tells CairoScene. ‘Classical Beauty’ collects images captured at heritage sites that carry within them “the respect for our heritage and the wisdom of our forebears,” while ‘Keep Walking’ features a collection of raw, candid images taken during various moments of the day, “capturing everything as it is.”

Eschewing any sort of editing, Fares intends for his photographs to be as raw and natural as he had witnessed them in the moment. The reasoning behind his choice of camera thus becomes clear, seeing as his iPhone is a constant companion, always at the ready to shoot.

'Disguised', Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, 2015

Though Fares has been capturing images for more than ten years now, he’d only begun compiling them into their respective collection in 2020. In 2021, Fares debuted his photographs publicly at Art D’Egypte’s exhibition at O West. Since then, Fares’ work has been displayed internationally, at New York’s Salon Art + Design in 2022, and at Nomad Capri’s Space 22 exhibition in Italy in 2023, both showcased by Egyptian contemporary art gallery Le Lab.

“This project was never prepared. Never would I have thought that I was going to gather over 5,000 photos, but the moments - full of meaning and inspiration - just came to me,” Fares tells CairoScene. “We move through life too fast, blink and you’ll miss it. This iPhone series is a dynamically evolving project that’s all about catching spontaneous moments and appreciating the beauty that lies within unexpected encounters.”

Joining the ranks of millions of street photographers worldwide, Fares proudly chants ‘#ShotOniPhone’ across all his exhibitions, listing beneath each photograph its date, location, and the iPhone model used to capture it. Throughout his exhibitions, Fares displays each and every one of past iPhone models used in an open glass display.

The upcoming exhibition at London’s 1-54 at Somerset House is set to showcase a curated selection of Fares’ most recent works, each highlighting unfiltered moments captured through his eyes. “My motto revolves around celebrating the everyday, breaking out of any box that limits my desire to grow and expand,” Fares shares.