Rania Matar: Where Do I Go?

Sublime photographic meditations on womanhood, homeland and the daunting prospect of immigration

Published with Eskenazi Museum of Art.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Lebanese Civil War, Boston-based photographer Rania Matar (born 1964) collaborated with young Lebanese women to visualize their life stories and complex relationships to their beautiful, war-torn homeland. Having immigrated from Lebanon to the United States when she was 20, Matar sees herself in her portrait subjects--many of whom have found themselves at the same critical juncture, deliberating whether to stay or leave. Her photographs of the women are rooted in empathy and empowerment; she encouraged the women to become active participants in the image-making process, presiding over their bodies and making the environment their own. The series captures the women as they embrace life and its attendant risks: climbing on rocks and trees, jumping fully dressed into dirty water and waterfalls, and trespassing into abandoned buildings. A series of essays that reflect upon life in Lebanon accompany Matar's majestic portraits.