Beirut, 8 May 2019 – Byblos Bank hosted the seventh consecutive exhibition of the annual Byblos Bank Award for photography winner. Titled, “The River That Carried Me”, the first solo exhibition by Betty Ketchedjian was curated by BEIRUT ART FAIR, and featured photographs that contemplate the intimacy shared in a couple and its subsequent disappearance. It also put forward a series of questions concerning photography especially on the photographer’s ability to capture the spark of intimacy, which has long been concealed from others, as well as the ability to perpetuate it.
For the occasion Nada Tawil, Head of Group Communication Department at Byblos Bank, explained that: “Betty Ketchedjian is the seventh laureate whose first solo exhibition is hosted by the Bank as part of her prize for winning the Byblos Bank Award for photography. Her exhibition was preceded by an in-depth mentoring program in collaboration with BEIRUT ART FAIR.” She added: “The outcome was an impressive tableau of photographs meant to encourage the viewer to question their own personal lives.”
Commenting her first solo exhibition, Betty Ketchedjian said: “Working with Byblos Bank and BEIRUT ART FAIR for my first solo exhibition was a real learning experience, and will hopefully be a great starting point for my career in photography.” She added: “By using both still and moving images focused mainly on gestures and physical expressions, this project tries to externalize what people feel internally.”
Betty Ketchedjian holds a Masters in Photography from London College of Communication. Her work uses both digital and analog photographs, as well as moving images and sound installations to explore notions of the self and identity, while also questioning human behavior in social contexts. Wondering about memories, dreams, and personal stories, her projects articulate a unique personalized narrative and approach. In September 2018, she won the Byblos Bank Award for photography at BEIRUT ART FAIR for her project titled “Namesake”, prevailing over nearly 150 other contestants.