The Longing of The Stranger Whose Path Has Been Broken is a fruit of the 2022 FotoEvidence W Award.
” This book has been almost 10 years in the making. The project started out as my process to reconnect to my Bedouin ancestry then turned into an opportunity to connect, learn from and work with the community. Along the way my visual voice has unearthed. The Longing Of The Stranger Whose Path Has Been Broken is a dance, a conversation with the Sinai Bedouin community as we explore what it means to belong, what is this indescribable connection to the land that we all long
for and the indigenous experience that is filled with both sorrow and celebration. This book is an alternative Bedouin archive woven by the community themselves, it is an experience that invites readers to look inwards as much as outwards to question the notion of belonging.” Rehab Eldalil
“In my practice, I explore how to challenge traditional documentary frameworks by developing methods to involve subjects to become part of the creative process and have agency. I experiment with how to embrace the fluidity of collaborative mediums with photography to develop layered and comprehensive visual narratives that challenge the exoticism of communities, including my own as an African and Arabic woman. Having lived in the US during 9/11 and experienced rising xenophobia then returning back to Egypt where years later I participated in the Jan25 Egyptian revolution, I use my personal experiences as creative inspiration. As an advocate for Bedouin community rights, licensed scuba diver and experienced mountain trekker, I’m drawn to topics that challenge linear narratives and oriental ideologies.
I consider my work as alternative historical documents woven by the community’s voice. I welcome the complexity of an identity instead of reducing it to labels that may result in othering. My work is both personal and universal. I believe that photography and visual storytelling has the power to connect as much as divide communities. With rising issues on borders, stigma and general loss of identity around the world, I aim to use my work to advocate for social justice and understanding.” Rehab Eldalil
The book is 182 pages and contains 44 color images, 9 images with embroidery by community members and Native plants from the Sinai region foraged and described by tribe elders as plants that hold medicinal and traditional benefits for the community.
The production of the book is supported by the Arab Fund for Art and Culture and it is co-published with Trobades & Premis Mediterranis Albert Camus
Rehab Eldalil : The Longing of The Stranger Whose Path Has Been Broke
Publishers Copyright © 2022 FotoEvidence/ Trobades & Premis Mediterranis Albert Camus
ISBN: 978-2-494308-02-2
https://fotoevidence.com/books/the-longing-of-the-stranger-whose-path-has-been-broken-by-rehab-eldalil-winner-of-the-2022-w-award
