Uwa (Blossoming Flower) is part of a body of photographs by Omani female artist Eman Ali that examine the imagery of femininity in the uniquely preserved Muslim Swahili culture that was born from ancient and multiple exchanges between the Arab, Indian and East African worlds and that still prevails in Lamu, an island located in North Kenya. Verses selected from the mythic Swahili figure of Liyongo ‘s erotic poem: Utendi wa Mwana Manga (In Praise of the Arab Woman) shape the composition of the images. The enchanting metaphors used in the poem supporting a sensual, subterranean desire inform Ali’s representations of the female within the boundaries of the old and current cultural constraints.