time, narrative and photography - hanaa'
  The group came to look forward to viewing Hanaa's pictures every day. She was always experimenting with different angles, frames and lighting sources. While often quiet during the workshop, she would eagerly comment on other people's work and accept other people's comments graciously. We regularly found her advising other students on how they could photograph a theme or an emotion, something seemingly intangible.
Hanaa's first set of pictures tells a story of a boy and his tree in ten pictures. Although in the pictures it seems as if the tree continues to grow while the boy remains the same age, Hanaa' explained that the final two pictures in the series represent the boy's hope for the future of his tree. His tree might not flourish despite his attempts to nourish it because the future is not guaranteed.
In the first triptych of her final project, Hanaa' sought to present the experiences of a Palestinian refugee. In the past, a child can be simultaneously playful and learn Palestinian history and traditions (represented by the olive branches). The shadow, although present, is not overpowering.
In the present, the shadow fills the map of Palestine made of rocks, and Palestinian ID cards are placed outside of the map. By this picture Hanaa' wanted to express that the passage to adulthood for a refugee is the understanding that the defining characteristic of Palestinian identity is estrangement from Palestine. The shadow now covers the map of rocks completely. In the picture representing the future, the map is now full of olive leaves, representing perhaps either the return of the refugees or some other type of renewal. The shadow appears on the other side of the map, having passed.
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Past, present, future |
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Final project |
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