The Extraordinary Ordinary - Shadows in Kuwait...

Morning shadow of a bridge in Raas Al-Salmiya...

Here in Kuwait we spend most of our time in the shade. This avoidance of direct sunlight extends beyond just an insistence on spending time indoors for reasons of comfort (within the direct ambit of AC), but has also transcended into a cultural and social realm - a phenomena that has infiltrated the local dress sense, the duration and way exterior space is perceived and used, the way the region designs and constructs its buildings and cities. Beyond the more enveloping sartorial choices suggested by various canonical dictums (which includes wearing gloves during the Summer months), this also entails that the choreography according to which we occupy and interact with each other is at least partly guided by an, usually intuitive, retreat into shadows. Very few things in Kuwait are done in sunlight, as the city we occupy today is designed in a manner which minimises any direct exposure. This notion can also be applied to various analogous intimations, as illustrated by some of the photos included below...

Shadow of street side palm...

Overlapping shadows, produced by crossed reflections from car headlights and a street light...

Bridge ramp...

Building facade by Gulf Road...

Stretched shadows of a clothes-line...

Afternoon reflections off an irregular window (Salwa)...

Translucent curtain in front of a class door...

Shadow of a tricycle on stained asphalt...

At least five shady cats...