Diriyah (Hardcover)

Bobby Sager

ISBN 10: 0847873706 / ISBN 13: 9780847873708

Published by Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 2023

About this Item

Hardcover. After spending most of the last twenty years photographing people in war-torn places around the world, photographer Bobby Sager trains his gaze upon a UNESCO world heritage site in the Arabian desert to deliver a visual tour de force.Sager traveled to Diriyah, an ancient mud city abandoned by its inhabitants several decades ago. The fragile site has been closed to visitors for over a decade. But during the final stages of a major ten-year restoration, Sager was given unlimited access to capture the soul of this magical place before it was opened to the public. Captivated by the erosion in Diriyahsmud-brick walls, Sager is drawn to the faces he sees within the mud patterns of the towns architecture. Sager asks us to think of these faces as our hosts and us as their guests as we explore the streets, palaces, mosques, and schools of this three-hundred-year-old city.Desert landscapes and architectural compositions accompany details of the walls and the faces in this lushly produced, oversize volume.Bobby Sager is an American photographer whose photography has given rise to several publications and exhibitions. Books include: The Power of the Invisible Sun, (Chronicle 2009), Beyond the Robe (Powerhouse Books, 2013), and Invisible Sun (Rizzoli 2019). After spending the last twenty years photographing people in war-torn places around the world, photographer Bobby Sager trains his gaze upon a UNESCO world heritage site in the Arabian desert to deliver a visual tour de force, recording ghostly faces he detects in the ancient city s mud walls. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780847873708

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Diriyah (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications, New York
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0847873706
• ISBN 13: 9780847873708
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

An intimate portrait of an epic place.

In this lushly produced, oversize volume, Bobby Sager’s Diriyah Face to Face captures a fundamental distinction in our understanding of the world: seeing versus feeling. It begs the questions, “How do we get close enough to someone or something to really listen? How do we suspend our biases and beliefs, even if momentarily, to better understand the details of a place, of a community, of even ourselves?”

Having spent the last 20 years photographing people in traumatized communities all over the world, capturing the turmoil and challenges of poverty, conflict, and the human ability to overcome; Bobby Sager has brought his eye for detail and search for common humanity to the city of Diriyah, giving the reader an opportunity to connect with the community that once inhabited this 300-year-old mud city in the middle of Saudi Arabia that became the Capital of the first Saudi State.

In his photography, Sager focuses on capturing the eyes of his subjects in the flux of everyday life. In this book he reveals the eternal stillness of this muddy metropolis, the deep-rooted humanity in this community of mud faces, and the essential reminder of the people who once lived there. Sager asks us to think of these mud faces as our hosts and us as their guests as we explore the streets, palaces, mosques, and schools of this extraordinary place. The silhouettes of the walls are the iconic image of Diriyah; but it is in the details, in the shadows, in the stillness, and especially in the community of mud faces, that we are brought to a deep state of intimacy.

Sager has once again reminded the reader that the biggest value from his interactions begins in the smallest, most human of observations: the ability to see something. As it is through careful, mindful attention that we observe the details to better understand the big picture.

About the Author

Bobby Sager is an American photographer. His photography has given rise to several publications and exhibitions, including: Invisible Sun (Rizzoli, 2019).