Can we tell Palestine’s story of resistance with a narrative other than the prose of strife? Jordanian-American photographer Tanya Habjouqa answers this question as she explores Palestinian’s ability for pursuing pleasures, a search that also represents a form creative resistance.
“Despite occupation, there is a great deal of magic in Palestine,” she says on the video, as she leads a crowdfunding campaign to create a hardcover book of her photo series “Occupied pleasures”, which was recognized with a World Press Photo award in 2014.
“We need to remember people embodied in their flesh and not just reflected through the lens of news, or prejudice, or stereotype,” says the Jerusalem-based photographer, as she portrays two Palestinian women doing yoga. Approaching her subjects with an eye for the absurd, Habjouq documents the ludicrous moments of everyday life in Palestine, where a 47-year long occupation constrains the population’s activities, mobility, and spare time opportunities.
For more information: Visit Tanya’s website and support her campaign on Kickstarter.