From my first few days in Amman, after I was introduced to my Iraqi host mother, I began to realize the extent of Arab diversity in the city. To put things into context, my name is Amna - an Iraqi-American studying abroad in Amman, Jordan. I went on this semester abroad not only to enrich my Arabic, but also to augment my cultural and societal understanding of the Middle East. Having left the region at a young age to live in the United States, I have always been fascinated by the interconnectedness of the West and its ramifications in the Middle East.
As illustrated in much of the art showcased at the exhibit, and in Halawani’s negative photograph series, the direct violence and criminalization of the Palestinian identity symbolizes the larger image of the powerful states in the West who inflict this physical violence. In this series, Halawani uses photography as the medium to document and expose social and political injustices that are continuously normalized in the media and beyond.
