Dimensions: image: 191 x 290 mm
Copyright: © Akram Zaatari, courtesy Hashem el Madani and Arab Image Foundation, Beirut | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: This is Akram Zaatari's "Anonymous. South Lebanon, 1952. Hashem el Madani," a photographic print from an earlier studio portrait. There’s a starkness to it. Editor: Absolutely, the direct gaze and the grainy texture create an immediate sense of intimacy. It feels almost confrontational, highlighting the sitter’s dignity, despite the backdrop. Curator: Madani's studio practice often documented everyday life in Saida, and Zaatari's re-presentation raises questions about authorship, archiving, and the circulation of images. What is preserved and why? Editor: Right, and the anonymity underscores a broader issue. Whose stories get told, and whose are erased in historical narratives? The man's weathered face speaks volumes about resilience, class, and the weight of time in Lebanon. Curator: The simplicity of the composition, the man centered against the rough wood planks, it all points to the studio’s role in shaping identity and preserving memory within a community. Editor: It really asks us to consider whose gaze is framing this narrative. What does it mean to reclaim and recontextualize images from a specific historical and political moment? Curator: Thinking about it this way makes me appreciate the complexities embedded in this seemingly simple portrait. Editor: Precisely, a potent reminder of how art can challenge dominant narratives and honor untold stories.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/zaatari-anonymous-south-lebanon-1952-hashem-el-madani-p79443
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This work is one of a series of black and white silver gelatin photographs of varying sizes that are collectively titled Objects of study/The archive of studio Shehrazade/Hashem el Madani/Studio Practices. All of the photographs were taken by the Lebanese commercial photographer Hashem el Madani between 1948 and 1982 and compiled into the present group, 117 of which are in Tate’s collection, by the Lebanese artist Akram Zaatari. All of the photographs include people, either alone, in pairs or in small groups, and most were taken in Madani’s studio, although some were shot outside and in his subjects’ homes. The series features men and women and covers a wide age range from babies to elderly people. Almost all of the sitters assume poses deliberately for the camera, sometimes accompanied by props or costumes, and most gaze directly towards the lens. Many of the pictures show subjects interacting in various ways, including embracing, kissing and acting out scenes, such as a mock wrestling match. The photographs are mostly tightly cropped, with the sitter or sitters filling most of the frame, although in some cases the figures are positioned further away from the camera, for instance when shown sitting at a table or standing behind a chair. The photographs tend to have sparse backgrounds, often dominated by a blank posterior wall. They are mounted on white paper, displayed in plain white frames and signed on the back by Madani. Many of them have been organised into categories by Zaatari – such as a group featuring men dressed as Syrian resistance fighters and a collection depicting newly married couples – while the rest are presented individually. Zaatari has stated that although he prefers these groups to be displayed together, this is not a requirement (Akram Zaatari, email to Rachel Taylor, 24 April 2008, Tate Acquisition file).
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