"From Fallujah" exhibit photographs and supporting materials, 2013, 2018-2021

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Summary

Creator:
Bechtold, John, Ghazi, Noor, Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University), al-ʻĀnī, Muḥammad, 1996- , Jamāl, Muḥammad, ʻAlī, Ḥārith khalīl, and Jāsim, Ṣūrah ʻAbbās
Abstract:
"From Fallujah" was a group photography exhibit held in Durham, N.C. in October 2021; it was curated by artist and documentarian John Bechtold. Collection consists of 58 inkjet color exhibit prints, 74 proof prints, one digital video of a photographers' panel discussion, and related materials such as correspondence between the curator, translator Noor Ghazi, and the photographers; two exhibit panels; a comment book; and a publicity card. The exhibited images explore the city of Fallūjah, Iraq (ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah) from the perspective of four emerging photographers - three men and one woman - from Fallūjah: Harith Khaleel Ali / حارث خليل علي, Mohammed Jamal Ali / محمد جمال, Mohamed Al-Ani (also listed as Mohamed Mahmoud Kazem) / محمد محمود كاظم, and Sura Abbas Jasim / سرى عباس جاسم. Images are chiefly of the city's street life during the day and at night, children in the city, the Euphrates River, and green spaces just outside the city. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
Extent:
2.5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
11.8 Gigabytes (1 video file (mp4 format))
Physical description:
The 58 exhibit-quality inkjet prints range in size from 6 7/8 x 9 3/4 inches to 10 3/8 x 15 3/8 inches, and were printed from digital negatives on fine art cotton rag paper. The largest items in the collection are two exhibit panels which measure approximately 18x24 and 18x30 inches.
Language:
Materials are chiefly in English; some materials are in Arabic.
Collection ID:
RL.12013

Background

Scope and content:

The core of the collection consists of 58 color inkjet exhibit prints from the work of four emerging photographers - three men and one woman - from Fallūjah, Iraq (ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah); supporting materials include proof prints and exhibit materials. The photographers are: Harith Khaleel Ali / حارث خليل علي, Mohammed Jamal Ali / محمد جمال, Mohamed Al-Ani (also listed as Mohamed Mahmoud Kazem) / محمد محمود كاظم, and Sura Abbas Jasim / سرى عباس جاسم. The photographs were shown in Durham, North Carolina from October 1-November 6, 2021 as part of the Click Photography Festival; the project was conceived and co-ordinated by documentarian John Bechtold, with translation support by Noor Ghazi. The materials are chiefly in English but some correspondence and exhibit materials are in Arabic.

The exhibited photographs and other materials explore the city of Fallūjah from the perspectives of the four photographers. Images are chiefly of the city's street life during the day and at night; settings include thoroughfares and boulevards; mosques and minarets; markets, malls, and shops; children in the city; the Euphrates River, its promenades, and bridges; and surrounding rural and green areas. The prints range in size from 6x9 to 10x15 inches.

Supporting materials include 74 color proof prints; two exhibit panels; an exhibit comments book; a publicity postcard; and many emails between the organizers and photographers which provide context on the project and document the complexities of organizing it. Two small prints reproduced by the curator from a Wikipedia site about Fallūjah were used in the exhibit as a means of juxtaposing militarized images of the city. A one-hour digital video of a panel discussion with the photographers, held in conjunction with the exhibit and with the Click Photography Festival, rounds out the collection.

Biographical / historical:

"From Fallujah" was a group photography exhibit held from October 1 to November 6, 2021 at the PS118 art gallery in Durham, North Carolina, as part of Durham's Click Photography Festival. It was conceived of and curated by artist and documentarian John Bechtold with support from translator Noor Ghazi.

From the exhibit statement: "Featuring the work of four emerging Iraqi photographers, the ['From Fallujah'] exhibit proceeds from the idea that the best way to learn about a place is through the people who live there. Our purpose is to make another story about Fallujah visible to American audiences, one that departs from its militarized meaning in public memory. Fallujah is not an Iraq War battlefield. It is a place where people work, attend school, and frequent public spaces wanting what we all want, a chance to peaceably choose our lives."

Harith Khaleel Ali حارث خليل علي

Harith Khaleel Ali (Ḥārith khalīl ʻAlī) holds a B.A. in Biology and is a photographer and artist living in the Fallujah countryside.

Mohammed Jamal Ali محمد جمال

Mohammed Jamal Ali (Muḥammad Jamāl ʻAlī) is a student studying chemistry at the University of Anbar. He aspires to become a wildlife photographer and hopes to make photography his livelihood.

Mohammed Al-Ani (also listed as Mohamed Mahmoud Kazem) محمد محمود كاظم

Mohammed Al-Ani (Muḥammad al-ʻĀni) was born in Fallūjah in 1996 and returned to live there in 2017. His photography has been exhibited widely in the Middle East.

Sura Abbas Jasim سرى عباس جاسم

Sura Abbas Jasim (Ṣūrah ʻAbbās Jāsim) holds a master's degree in agricultural economics. She has been practicing photography since 2012 and remains one of the few women photographing in Al-Anbar province.

John Bechtold is an artist, documentarian, and academic working in North Carolina. After a 21-year career in the Army which took him to Lebanon and Iraq and other countries, he earned a Master's degree at Duke University and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in American Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. His dissertation explores the representation of warfare in American cultural memory.

Noor Ghazi, born in Baghdad, Iraq, is a peace activist, research lecturer, translator, and author on the faculties of UNC-Greensboro and UNC-Chapel Hill. She is based in North Carolina.

Acquisition information:
The "From Fallujah" exhibit photographs and supporting materials were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2022.
Processing information:

Processed and desribed by Craig Breaden, Paula Jeannet, July 2022.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2022-0085, 2022-0086, 2022-0087.

Arrangement:

Arranged in three series by format: "From Fallujah" photographers' panel video; exhibit photographs; and exhibit materials and correspondence. The exhibit prints are organized by photographer, in alphabetical order by Romanized last name. Within, photographs are arranged in original order as listed in the print inventory.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains electronic records in the form of a digital video that requires special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], "From Fallujah" exhibit photographs and supporting materials, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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