‘Om

Barbara Debeuckelaere

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‘Om is a collective visual work created by Barbara Debeuckelaere with the women and girls of eight families from Tel Rumeida in Hebron, one of the most complex areas of the West Bank inhabited by an explosive mix of Palestinians, radical Israeli settlers and soldiers. For these women and girls, starting a family, bringing up children and staying in this incredibly violent, constantly threatening and confrontational place is an act of extreme strength. By trying to maintain a loving home for their children and family members, these women and girls are waging a different, invisible war against war. In press articles or videos posted on social media, we mostly see men submitting to or fighting back against the violence of settlers and soldiers. The camera is their most powerful weapon for documenting and denouncing. It is usually digital cameras that are used in reports that try to capture the context, the violence, the political deadlock, the people, everything that surrounds the lives of Palestinians in Tel Rumeida.

For ‘Om, with Barbara Debeuckelaere, the women of Tel Rumeida became the photographers, and they chose analogue photography to convey something less tangible, less rational, more ambiguous and emotional, more feminine.They photographed their homes and their immediate surroundings to show us, with great spontaneity and without any prior training, what life and love are like in this violent place.This project, conceived and realised before the current war, is like a final act of resistance without moving, without fleeing.The unpredictable nature of the analogue, the light leaks, the mistakes, all fit perfectly with the fact that these women have little control over politics.

‘Om is a collective work, not photographs by authors or professionals. It’s a labour of love that will never end. Until the end of the occupation, until everyone is free.

Artist presented: Barbara de Beuckelaere

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Exhibition space : Galerie Satellite au Cinéma Churchill, Rue du Mouton Blanc, 20, 4000 Liège

Dates : 25.04 – 07.07.2024

Opening hours : Free admission every day of the year from 14:00 during Churchill opening hours.

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