Black and white photograph of a male farmer burning the hay on a
cloudy cool humid autumn morning. The face of an old man wearing
rubber boots fades as he slowly walks into the smoke coming from. In
the background, there is a corrugated iron fence that separates the
man from his property. A brick wall is visible behind the iron
fence. The ground is tapestried with grass where a plastic bag is
laying on it.
A panoramic black and white photograph of three women from the Awled
Dhifallah village in Northwest Tunisia. The photo was captured as
they were telling stories about their living conditions as
small-scale farmers to the photographer. The woman in the centre of
the photograph is actively expressing herself while looking directly
into the camera. The women are wearing scarves around their heads
to protect themselves against the cold. There is a large, bare tree
in the background, connecting them together with its branches. The
tree stands as a metaphor that connects the harshness of the
environment with the difficult living conditions women are faced
with due to lack of access to essential resources.
A black and white photograph of a barefoot 7-8-year-old boy. He is
standing next to a tree trunk. The long, dense roots of the tree are
visible due to erosion caused by rainwater eroding the soil.
A black and white panoramic photograph shows half the face of a
small light-haired girl whose family has lost their best
agricultural lands due to the construction of the dam. Behind her,
there is a village composed of brick and concrete unfinished houses.
The waterway affected by the dam is visible in the background. The
photographer intentionally chose a panoramic view with many layers
to highlight the way the government has extracted resources from the
land without reciprocating access to the people who depend on it for
their livelihoods.
Women and children from the ‘Ain Elbya’ village fill water
containers on a bright sunny day. . It smells like pine trees. Due
to the inability to pay for the electricity that pumps water at a
spring closer to them, people are forced to walk around 7 kilometres
to another water source to access water which is considered
unsanitary and sedimented. There is a pickup truck on the edge of a
cliff. Women gather around a donkey beside the water source. The
photographer wanted to show the nuance of exploitation - men over
women, elders over children and the government over the community.
A small water source in ‘Awled Dhifallah’ village between two small
hills of rocky ground and leaf litter texture. A floating plastic
container belonging to a person waiting behind the photographer to
recollect water can be seen at the back of the photograph. Two small
containers are placed at the border of the hill.
A ‘moment in paradise’ photo captured on a beautiful sunset day from
inside of an unfinished brick wall construction. The air smells like
pine and the terrain are full of fertile and abundant grass. Two
rounded holes from inside the wall introduce the image of a man
sitting at the top of a small hill while the other two silhouettes
are moving and joking in the background. These people are waiting in
the queue for collecting water from ‘Awled Dhifallah’ village.
A woman washes clothes under a tap of water at a public water
spring. There are two other women beside her, washing clothes and
collecting water for their families. A child carrying a plastic
container can be seen in the background. The woman is ostracized in
the community as she does not come from the village and is not given
fair access to water collection. Behind the women, there is a
concrete wall that protects the spring from erosion.
A portrait of a ten-year-old boy looking straight into the camera.
He is standing against a roughly textured unfinished cement wall.
The reflection of sunlight lighting his face creates a glowing halo
above his head.
A photo of a cemetery on a very foggy day up in the mountains. Lines
of graves and marble tombstones are found in the centre of the
image. The cemetery is naturally surrounded by a rocky hill with
several trees. The day is humid and it smells like wet earth after
it rains. The air is fresh and feels abundant in oxygen.
This photo was taken in the Awled Dhifallah village. A group of
people are gathered behind dry water well. The moment was captured
when they were telling their stories.
Two men walk along a muddy path surrounded by cactus. The men are
walking through a thick archway of cactus. It is a rainy autumn day,
and a small stream runs along the path. The photographer remembers
the air feeling damp and a deep smell of wet soil.
A man collects water from the swampy endpoint of a spring. The man
comes here because it is quieter than the other points of collection
and ensures that he only fills water from the top of the pool. The
cover of a plastic container floats on the right side of the image.
The water has flowers and a mucky substance floating along the
surface.
A man plays a ‘zokra’ - a kind of bagpipe during a wedding in the
‘Ommil bechna’ village. The light from the wedding diffracts on the
cemented wall creating a shadow of the man and some trees.
Two people stand next to their home beside a tree with large, bare,
tangled branches. The roots of the trees are visible due to erosion
from heavy rainfall. There are cacti present on the corner of the
photograph.
