{"id":1146335,"date":"2025-12-18T16:04:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T13:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1146335"},"modified":"2025-12-18T16:04:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T13:04:00","slug":"these-photos-show-palestinian-life-in-the-shadow-of-occupation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1146335","title":{"rendered":"These photos show Palestinian life in the shadow of occupation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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‘Ard: To Belong to Land’, Palestinian photography<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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Gallery \/ 8 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cAt this moment, I felt that the last thing we need is more images of bloodshed, violence and dead Palestinians,\u201d says Dalia Al-Dujaili<\/a>, the curator of <\/span>Ard: To Belong to Land<\/span><\/em><\/a>, a new exhibition of Palestinian photography at Milan\u2019s Galleria Gola. While she believes it\u2019s important to pay close attention to the genocide still unfolding in Gaza, she wanted the exhibition to \u201crehumanise a dehumanised people\u201d by showcasing quieter and gentler scenes of everyday life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Focused on the occupied West Bank, the exhibition features contributions from some of the most renowned Palestinian photographers working today, including <\/span>Adam Rouhana<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Maen Hammad<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Jenna Masoud<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Samar Hazboun<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Kholood Eid<\/span><\/a>, Dazed MENA cover star <\/span>Sakir Khader<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Zach Hussein<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Dean Majd<\/span><\/a> (who earlier this year shot Dazed\u2019s<\/span>cover story<\/span><\/a>with activist Mahmoud Khalil), along with poetry from Gaza-based writer <\/span>Yahya Al Hamarna<\/span><\/a>. Al-Dujaili didn\u2019t give the photographers a specific brief, but when they submitted their work, she realised that it was all in some way concerned with the land, portraying natural elements, animals and olive trees alongside human subjects. Having a deep interest in ecology, wildlife and the climate herself (ideas she explored in her 2025 book <\/span>Albion, Babylon<\/span><\/em><\/a>), she decided to centre the exhibition around land \u2013 a theme which, for obvious reasons, has a deep resonance in Palestinian culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sakir Khader<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The title is drawn from a phrase that Al-Dujaili saw circulating online during the Gaza genocide. \u201cPalestinians and indigenous people around the world will describe themselves as belonging to the land, while occupiers describe the land as belonging to them and see it as an object to control. In the West Bank, you see that in settlers razing olive trees and killing livestock,\u201d she says. Due to a multi-generational process of displacement from the late 19th century onwards, <\/span>Palestinians are one of the world\u2019s largest diasporas or refugee populations. There are no entry points to Palestine which aren\u2019t controlled by Israel, and for those living abroad, it is at best challenging and at worst impossible to visit; if the Israeli authorities turn you away at the border, your chances of overturning this decision are close to zero.<\/span><\/p>\n

This all adds a layer of pathos and complexity to the exhibition\u2019s themes. \u201cA lot of Palestinians have never even set foot on their homeland, yet they\u2019re still connected and aware of their relationship with it; it\u2019s still so real, it lives in their minds and hearts,\u201d Al-Dujaili says. While the images collected in the show were all taken in Palestine, many of the photographers have grown up elsewhere. In their photos, she says, we can see a \u201cvery tender, very loving\u201d care and attention.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"'Ard:<\/span><\/span>
Maen Hammad<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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It is a timely moment to launch an exhibition focused on the West Bank, where conditions have <\/span>dramatically worsened<\/span><\/a> since the genocide began and <\/span>escalated<\/span><\/a> even further following the launch of Trump\u2019s \u201cpeace plan\u201d in September. While the West Bank has so far escaped the level of mass slaughter inflicted on Gaza, its inhabitants live under a brutal military regime, where they are subjected to routine daily humiliations, army raids, the destruction of their property, imprisonment without trial, and rising violence from settlers who \u2013 despite the efforts of Israel\u2019s more liberal apologists to portray them as a rogue faction or a handful of bad apples \u2013 are <\/span>armed<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>funded <\/span><\/a>and <\/span>supported<\/span><\/a> by the Israeli government. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is different to Gaza, but it\u2019s hardly a subtler form of oppression: according to the <\/span>UN<\/span><\/a>, 1000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023 and between <\/span>30,000 and 40,000 forcibly displaced<\/span>. Whether they are settlers or soldiers, it\u2019s rare for Israeli perpetrators to face justice. Yinon Levy, a notoriously violent figure who earlier this year shot dead <\/span>No Other Land<\/span><\/em> co-director <\/span>Awdah Hathaleen<\/span><\/a>, was released after just three days of house arrest and has since faced no other legal repercussions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Occasionally the Israeli government will be compelled to act: a settler who assaulted a 52-year-old Palestinian woman in October, clubbing her in the head multiple times as she harvested olives and leaving her with a brain injury, was recently charged with terrorism offences. But this only happened due to <\/span>video evidence<\/span><\/a>\u00a0captured by American journalist Jasper Nathaniel –\u00a0too incontrovertible to be denied or downplayed – and the unusually intense international backlash which followed. Without that kind of pressure, most Israelis who murder or assault Palestinians enjoy near <\/span>total impunity.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

While Al-Dujaili chose to avoid direct depictions of violence, the brutality of the occupation is still present in the exhibition, just as it\u2019s inescapable in the lives of Palestinians. Based in Nablus, Sakir Khader often photographs the Jenin refugee camp, which is one of the world\u2019s largest \u2013 effectively a city in itself. \u201cJenin is constantly raided, and there are almost daily killings of boys and young men. Sakir captures these atrocities \u2013 he has a photo in the show of a young man living with a massive indentation in his skull,\u201d says Al-Dujaili.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"'Ard:<\/span><\/span>
Sakir Khader<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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In a photograph by Adam Rouhana<\/a>, two young boys cycle through the frame, a joyful scene which is complicated \u2013 if not diminished \u2013 by the apartheid wall looming behind them. Maen Hammad, most well-known for documenting the <\/span>West Bank\u2019s skateboarding scene<\/span><\/a>, has spent the last year photographing communities as they gather to welcome home Palestinian men who have been released from prison, many of whom have been <\/span>unlawfully detained<\/span><\/a> for years \u2013 in some cases since <\/span>childhood<\/span><\/a> \u2013 without a trial or even being accused of a crime. In one of Hammad\u2019s works in the exhibition, taken following a hostage exchange earlier this year, a group of men kiss an older man who has just been released. \u201cWhat these photographers capture so well is that despite [the reality of the occupation],\u00a0 Palestinians continue to find ways to be joyful, to live beautifully, to find dignity in their lives and humanity within themselves,\u201d Al-Dujaili explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"'Ard:<\/span><\/span>
Maen Hammad<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Al Hamarna, an author who has just published his first collection of poetry, My Voice Cannot Be Bombed,<\/em><\/a> wrote a poem in English specifically for the exhibition. \u201c[It depicts] images of plants and fanua and flora growing through the barren landscape, despite the destruction and death,\u201d says Al-Dujaili. \u201cThis is symbolic of Palestinian steadfastness and resoluteness, to continue to be hopeful and to continue living.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently living in Gaza, Al Hamarna has been offered a scholarship at a university in Ireland, which he will only be able to accept if he raises enough money to pay for his visa. Al-Dujaili<\/span> is trying to help with these costs by selling artworks tied to the show, and a friend of hers has organised a GoFundMe<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019d like to remind people that while the work in this show is beautiful and important, what\u2019s more important is helping people on the ground in a material way,\u201d she says. \u201cI think a lot of people lately feel their efforts are futile and that nothing makes a difference, but that\u2019s not true. Whether it\u2019s sharing resources, signing petitions or donating money, it all helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ard: To Belong to Land<\/a>runs at Galleria Gola, Milan, until 30 December 2025.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source URL: https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/69321\/1\/belong-to-land-exhibition-shows-palestinian-life-occupation-milan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘Ard: To Belong to Land’, Palestinian photography Gallery \/ 8 images \u201cAt this moment, I felt that the last thing we need is more images of bloodshed, violence and dead Palestinians,\u201d says Dalia Al-Dujaili, the curator of Ard: To Belong to Land, a new exhibition of Palestinian photography at Milan\u2019s Galleria Gola. While she believes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1146336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-1146335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1146335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1146335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1146335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1146336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1146335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1146335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1146335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}