The inability of sculptors and painters to embody the shapes and images that he asked of them pushed him to enter the world of photography and to embody the things he desired with his hands that tasted the ravages of migration and displacement from a very early age.
This creativity station led photographer Jamal Penjweni in the end to work with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to be his other eye and photograph him in an imaginative show way from complex angles that the Iraqi people were not familiar with with former prime ministers, to record for himself with these shots a distinguished presence in Iraq.
Penguini says that he contributed to showing the positive side of Al-Kazemi's character (Al-Jazeera)
Global reach
The lens of Penguini, born in 1981 in the Penguin district in the Sulaymaniyah province in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, has participated in international exhibitions, including the Imperial War Museum in Britain, the New York Museum of Modern (MOMA) and the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Paris, and his photos were published in international newspapers and agencies, including the Washington Post. The BBC, Reuters, New York Times and other international media organizations. He is currently a PhD student at a British university in the field of "Philosophy of Image".
After moving to the southern regions of Iraq after the US invasion in 2003, Penguini sought to show the true bright face of life, unlike other lenses that deliberately showed the negative side of life in these areas, which tempted international agencies and institutions to publish his photos and gain the admiration of the recipient, relying on his ambition to make a change Shamil and new with his lens in the reality of traditional Iraqi media and transferring it to a global level and out of the local and traditional character.
Penguini's photos of Al-Kazemi aroused the interest of the Iraqi street (Al-Jazeera)
Restore the prestige of Iraq
Al-Kazemi's photographer occupied the Iraqi street and drew attention with shots and stunts and captured them from complex and prominent angles, so that the Iraqi Prime Minister appeared to be more like a new national hero for Iraqis, trying through that - according to his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - to show the real seriousness, courage, energy and patriotism that Al-Kazemi enjoys in the work.
Jamal Penguini ... speaks with his lens, and what the latter says is without comment pic.twitter.com/M0978VSDgU
- Rasha Alazawe (@Rasha_Alazawe) August 20, 2020
Al-Kazemi addresses several problems and crises that Iraq is currently suffering from. Either Nguini, his mission, the first and the last, is to show the truth of the Iraqi prime minister and his strength as he seeks to make changes in Iraq and meet the needs of the people, especially since Al-Kazemi did not come through the ballot boxes to the power of power, but rather At the request of the popular masses, angry and revolt against corruption, says Penguini.
Al-Kazemi with an Iraqi girl without limbs (Al-Jazeera)
Al-Kazemi, who has a media background, has extensive relations with prominent journalists and photographers, but he was meticulous in choosing his government formation and the media team accompanying him in his work, including the photographer Penguini, with whom he has a friendship relationship for about 20 years and has worked together in more than one media institution.
Penguini attributed the reason for his agreement to work with Al-Kazemi to the fact that the government he formed was strong and came to restore the prestige of Iraq and serve the Iraqi people, noting that diligence is the true criterion for choosing him as a special photographer for the Iraqi prime minister away from personal relationships.
Al-Kazemi with a blindfold girl (Al-Jazeera)
Media Aura
Penguini says that his pictures express the reality of Iraq, the personality of Al-Kazemi, and his mission is to professionally show the true personality of people at work, and Al-Kazemi's pictures were not fake and far from his real, real personality, and he did nothing except that he showed the statue that was originally in stone, and showed his respect For all the opinions and criticisms directed at him by exaggerating the show shots.
In response to a question by Al-Jazeera Net whether he has really succeeded so far in drawing the appropriate media aura for Kazemi as a symbol of the state, Penguini assured that he has not achieved so far only 10% of his goal that he set, describing the path in this area for a very long time, promising the Iraqi people more Creativity during the coming years, depending on its diverse culture and its many and varied talents.
(Jamal Penjweni) ... a young Kurdish man and an old friend of Kazemi is the owner of the clips that impressed and became the focus of attention of the Iraqi people
Photographer Globe launched 🤦🏻♂️😂 pic.twitter.com/yynFCF4SPx
- Samer 艾 (@ _s5in_) August 21, 2020
It is not logical that a set of photographs in a professional manner should restore the Iraqi citizen's confidence in the existence of integrated institutions in Iraq after years of failures at all levels, despite the remarkable appearance of Kazemi and his departure to the people who suffer poverty, the absence of work opportunities and the proliferation of fugitive weapons after his arrival to the premiership.
Al-Khader considered that Al-Kazemi's press and intelligence background made him interested in his media image (Al-Jazeera)
Strange shots
The strange footage of Al-Kazemi addressed the Iraqis as a statesman and not a party man, as political analyst Ahmed Al-Khader says in his response to a question by Al-Jazeera Net whether he really succeeded in restoring part of the state's prestige during Al-Kazemi's era or not.
The diversity and career progression of Al-Kazemi in the field of journalism and historical documentation helped him gain experience in the art of appearing and influencing in return, and his previous work in a very sensitive field of intelligence, and this is what makes Al-Kazemi - according to Al-Khader - very interested in his media image in every political step he takes to make it more influential in the hearts of citizens. In addition to his used media rhetoric, which was neglected by his predecessors.
Prime Minister @MAKadhimi: The Counter-Terrorism Service has gained an international reputation as well, and we must work to enhance this reputation through continuous modern training and the need to entrench the principle of the national creed in the work of the agency, as well as the rest of the security services.
pic.twitter.com/5pHX7e997k
- Media Office of the Prime Minister 🇮🇶 (@IraqiPMO) August 29, 2020
This is not required, as Al-Khader says from Al-Kazemi, from the obligations towards the Iraqis, with hundreds of thorny files that need careful thought to be addressed, so these footage did not have a strong impact on the reality of the people, which is the first engine of the demonstrations last October.
Al-Khafaji saw that Penguini gave strength and an aura to the character of Al-Kazemi in most of the angles and served it positively (Al-Jazeera)
Below the eye level
Penguini employed the levels and angles of photography by going down to the level of view to give the character of Al-Kazemi power and influence to the recipient, unlike what is in place in Iraq, by photographing the character in many cases from the top, making it somewhat weak.
Penguini exaggerated somewhat - according to the expert in cinematic arts and lecturer at the University of Babylon, Imad Al-Khafaji - in some of the shots he was under the gaze, especially when he visited some religious shrines, but he gave strength and an aura to the personality of Al-Kazemi in most of the angles and served it a positive service, noting that he defined this method Al-Kazemi in a way Different from previous officials, forcing the recipient to follow the Iraqi Prime Minister through the pictures that are published with his satisfaction with the diversity in the shots.
Al-Kazemi during his visit to one of the religious shrines in Iraq (Al-Jazeera)
According to Al-Khafaji, Penguini aroused the Iraqi people with his new style and boldness in employing the camera levels of Al-Kazemi's character and making the recipient's eye insatiable from the published shots by changing the angles of capture and not repeating the movement, which is a unique and bold case, contrary to what the recipient is accustomed to, who now sees only the Iraqi official with one template from the level Higher consideration.
Al-Khafaji describes the profession of photography as a double-edged weapon, which can serve the character a good service or offend it by showing it in a traditional, non-prominent way, calling on Iraqi officials to seek the help of professional photographers with experience to preserve the character and influence society.