Power environmental messages in Casa Árabe

The long, torrid days in Madrid this summer make the transition between the urban space of the Spanish capital and what the exhibition Moving Sands shows us in the impressive neo-Mudéjar building that houses the Casa Árabe all the more natural. This exhibition presents five interrelated projects by young photographers from North Africa and the Middle East, each with a solid creative vision, which address the profound changes taking place in the landscapes of North Africa and the Middle East. Curated by David Drake, the exhibition is part of PhotoEspaña and is on view until the end of September.

As the Islamic New Year or Hijrî, or R'as as-Sana in Arabic, has just begun with the crescent moon on 18 July, the five artists exhibiting their works issue a call to action: how we can use the land sustainably, ensure the conservation of biodiversity and clean water supplies, and respect traditional ways of life while advancing modernity, thus maintaining our sacred bond with Mother Nature.

Rehab Eldalil, Seif Kousmate, Amina Kadous, Nadia Bseiso and Wafaa Samir embody this rupture. From the so-called infertile Crescent, a reference to the 180 kilometres of the controversial Red Sea-Dead Sea "salvation pipeline", to the disappearance over the last century of two-thirds of the habitat of the Moroccan oases, these young photographers convey this alteration, obviously not always for the better, of the landscapes, places and horizons that make up their own personal memory and history.

David Drake says that "the future of all societies depends on a rooted and respectful human relationship with the natural world". He notes that in the Arab world, the challenge of maintaining this balance has been compounded by political instability, over-intensive agriculture and construction, deforestation, diversion of waterways and, more recently, the global climate emergency.

White Gold, The Longing of the Stranger Whose Path Has Broken, Wafa (Oasis), What Remains and Infertile Crescent make up the five chapters of this exhibition, in which the artistic discourse speaks to us of origin, memory, abandoned history, the use and conservation of the land, personal traumas, the battles we fight within ourselves as we try to situate ourselves in a constantly changing world.

There is a continuous incitement to reflection in each and every one of the snapshots exhibited, seasoned with techniques and pigments that delve into the need for man not to lose his roots and his permanent relationship with the land. The silence in Casa Árabe's Sala de Columnas is conducive to a sense of recollection which could perhaps do with an armchair to make contemplation, evocation and reflection longer and more comfortable for the visitor.

In short, it is one of the exhibitions which, in addition to its visual quality, contains greater spiritual power.