Passing / عبور

"Passing / عبور" is a multimedia project documenting the stories of Jordanian land-working communities and their traditional practices as they face threats of displacement and erasure due to climate change, urbanization, and economic pressures.

 Passing /عبور seeks to document the stories of land working communities in Jordan and their traditional practices as they face threats of displacement and erasure, becoming casualties of climate change, urbanization, and sociopolitical and economic shifts. 

This shift displaces and undermines the livelihoods of land workers, such as farmers, fishermen, shepherds, and bedouins. The project seeks to navigate the complex social, cultural, and natural ties that bind communities to each other and to their land, showcasing the resilience of their time-tested traditions and highlighting the flora and fauna they protect and rely on for food, trade, and medicine.

Evoking feelings of loss, grief and pride, this project aims to create space for the unheard narratives of traditional communities and their deep-rooted practices, honoring their stories and the lands they have nurtured for generations.

Consisting of three components, Passing will incorporate analog photography, collaborative cyanotype sun printing, and a display of culturally significant pressed and dried herbs, flowers, and other natural materials. By employing these techniques, the project conveys conceptual and methodological consistency, paying reverence to tradition and the resilience of time-honored practices.

I will utilize various analog photography techniques, relying on different types of medium format film and 35mm film. Experimenting with methods such as multiple exposure, using 35mm in medium format cameras, and even employing large format photography (4x5). Moreover, all the film will be developed and scanned in my home, embracing the experimental nature of analog photography and processing. 

Together, we will create cyanotype prints from significant plants, tools, and elements picked and arranged by the subject. This collaborative approach would give them space to personally exhibit these emotionally and culturally significant materials. This will offer an intimate view of their lives, practices, and traditions that are at risk of vanishing, fostering a deeper connection between the art and its subjects.

I will be collecting samples of herbs, plants, flowers, and other natural materials like wool, feathers, etc. that hold deep emotional and cultural significance to the communities I am documenting. These elements, carefully chosen for their connections to local traditions and everyday life, will be dried, pressed, and displayed alongside the photographs and sun prints. By incorporating these materials into the exhibition, I aim to create a tangible link to the land and its people, reflecting the intimate relationships they have with their natural surroundings. 

This project requires funds to cover essential costs such as film, developing chemicals, and processing/archiving equipment. A significant portion of the budget will be allocated to transportation and accommodation expenses, allowing for extended visits to remote traditional communities across Jordan. This will enable in-depth engagement and collaboration with the subjects over multiple sessions.

Moreover, funds will support the collaborative workshops with the communities, ensuring their direct involvement in creating the art. These workshops will require materials such as fabric and paper, cyanotype chemicals, and other tools necessary to facilitate the creative process while sun printing. 

Methods

Research:

I will begin by outlining specific regions in Jordan that have seen large-scale urbanization in the past 10 - 20 years such as Dana, Wadi Rum, Kerak, etc. Areas in which there is growing tourism have been heavily impacted as well as villages and towns in between major cities such as Amman and Madaba have been greatly impacted. 

To gather insights, I will collaborate with local activists and researchers. I plan to live with these communities for short periods, building trust and creating a space where they feel comfortable sharing their stories from within their homes and land.

To ensure participants are fully informed and comfortable, I will work closely with community members to understand their stories and perspectives. Subjects will be fully informed on the project to ensure their comfort and to respect their autonomy. I will seek alternative ways to document their narratives if subjects are not comfortable being photographed - such as capturing their homes, tools, and farmlands - or taking photographs without showing identifiable features such as their faces. I will also be reaching out to various community members, some of which will be more comfortable and open than others. Subjects will also be involved in setting up scenes, arranging flora for cyanotype prints, and selecting scenes and elements that are meaningful to them. In addition to its value to the project, this process will help build strong repertoire and trust.

Photography:

I will use various film formats, including 6x6 and 645 medium formats, 35mm film, and panorama, to best capture the diversity of subjects and scenes. Both color and black-and-white films (including infrared film) will be utilized, allowing for a range of expressions, from candid moments to curated portraits and expansive landscapes. Techniques such as multiple exposure and composing scenes using additional equipment if needed, such as external lighting, will be employed to experiment with the photographic process. 

Developing both color and black-and-white films at home ensures a hands-on, intimate approach to every stage of image creation. This step also allows for the flexibility to push or pull film. Processing the film will require developing and fixing chemicals which will be mixed and stored for use throughout the project. After processing, the negatives will be dried, cleaned, and scanned using a flatbed scanner, before being digitally refined in Adobe Lightroom to prepare for exhibition.

This project will employ various documentary photography techniques to convey the depth of the subjects' experiences. Candid shots will be used to document community members in their natural environments, to capture rituals, intimacy, and spontaneity within their daily lives. Environmental portraits will show individuals within their homes or workplaces, providing context about their surroundings and how these spaces influence their lives. The project will utilize the style of photo essays, presenting a series of images that together form a narrative about the impacts of urbanization, climate change, and cultural loss. With the resources provided by the program, I intend on expanding my documentary photography skills and demonstrating my evolution as an artist. 

Cyanotype:

I will collaborate with community members to collect meaningful materials such as herbs, plants, flowers, tools, handmade objects, etc. to create sun prints. Before beginning the printing process, I will be creating test strips to gauge how much time is needed for the cyanotype to develop. This is heavily reliant on how strong the sun is at that given moment. 

Together, we will then apply the cyanotype chemicals to the printing material, wait as it dries, then arrange these elements and wait for them to imprint in the sun. The goal is to create some prints that the community members can keep, while others will be reserved for exhibition. 

This process will require cyanotype chemicals as well as brushes, sponges, containers, and other tools to apply the cyanotype chemicals to the printing material, as well as clean water to wash and fix the sun prints. Having a glass plate is also useful to hold the elements in place as they imprint onto the printing material. The results will then be left to dry as the images are fixed. The majority of the prints will then be carefully stored until the exhibition, leaving some with the subjects that created them. 

Pressing:

I will also be collecting and archiving the natural materials used during the collaborative sun printing, focusing specifically on herbs, plants, and flowers, and their uses and significance to the subjects. For pressing, I will use book pressing methods to flatten and preserve these materials. This process involves placing the items between sheets of absorbent paper, arranging them neatly to avoid overlap, and then stacking them under heavy books for an extended period of time (typically a few days) to apply even pressure. The pressing process will ensure that the delicate details of each item are maintained while removing residual moisture. 

After pressing, the items will be carefully mounted and displayed alongside their sun prints and the photographs they hold meaning for. This will create a cohesive exhibition that visually connects the preserved materials with the stories and significance they represent, providing a tangible and meaningful context to the accompanying artwork and photographs.

Challenges:

A significant challenge in implementing the Passing /عبور project is navigating the varying levels of comfort with being photographed, particularly among women and children in traditional communities. Some community members may not wish to have their faces or identities captured due to personal or cultural reasons. Additionally, the topics being explored—such as the impacts of displacement, loss of livelihood, and other sociopolitical issues—can be sensitive. This may lead some participants to prefer anonymity or the use of pseudonyms to protect their identities and privacy.

To address these challenges, I will adopt a collaborative and flexible approach to documentation. I will engage with community members to understand their comfort levels and preferences and develop mediums of documentation that align with their wishes. Instead of focusing solely on direct portraits, I will explore photographing elements that symbolize their daily lives and experiences, such as landscapes, tools, or other culturally significant objects. 

I will also rely on my professional experience as a therapist, which equips me with the skills to engage empathetically with subjects and foster a comfortable and respectful environment. Subjects will be fully informed about the project to ensure their comfort and maintain trust and respect throughout the process. If a subject is not comfortable being part of the project, I will seek out other community members. By prioritizing trust-building and active listening, I aim to create a space where participants feel safe to share their experiences in the manner they find most comfortable, ensuring their boundaries are respected throughout the project, and recognizing the dignity of the subjects even as I frame them within the camera's lens.

Another challenge I anticipate is the limited availability of essential materials in Jordan, including film, developing chemicals, and clean water, which is particularly scarce in the rural areas where these communities reside. To address these issues, I will use my car to access remote communities and transport vital supplies, such as power banks, water, lighting equipment, and additional personal items. Additionally, I plan to import film, developing chemicals, cyanotype chemicals, and other necessary materials when local sources are unavailable.

Outputs:

The project's outputs will include a multimedia exhibition featuring printed and framed analog photographs, framed cyanotype prints on both paper and fabric made in collaboration with the subjects of the projects, and an archival display of pressed herbs, plants, flowers, and other natural materials carrying emotional and cultural value, along with descriptions of traditional names and uses of these items, and how they hold significance and value not only to the subjects but as part of our natural heritage and traditions.