The Land That Remains

The Land That Remains

In February 2017 I carried out an assignment in the oPt by UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) to photograph the marble and stone industry, its impact on the environment, and the use of these materials in the city of Hebron and elsewhere, including Nablus, Bethlehem, Birzeit, Ramallah. This project gave me the opportunity to continue and enlarge my own research on the vanishing landscapes and heritage (both natural and cultural) of occupied Palestine which I commenced in 2008/2009 on assignment with UNESCO. Part of that research was published as a book, The Land That Remains, by Hatje Cantz, in 2016. Fifteen photographs from the 79 photograph sequence of the book were selected in 2017 to make the artist book Su Ogni Stesa Pietra / Upon Every Laid Stone, a collaboration between myself and poet Stefano Vincieri. This hand made book, edition of 15 copies, contains 15 bilingual poems and 15 original archival prints, printed by MAVIDA Editions. My goal is to give a voice, a citizenship to places which are tragically and largely unspoken and unseen, places of a contradictory present and a demanding past contained within, places of great weight and history, places resonant with suffering and dignity. Here I present a few images from the latest research which focuses on the industrial and urban development of Hebron, oPt.