Rising Among Ruins, Dancing Amid Bullets

Maryam Ashrafi is a social documentary photographer who focuses on long-term projects, documenting the daily lives of combatants on the Kurdish front. Her work highlights the complexities of the war and the building of a new social model based on equality where women occupy the same roles as men. The book is built on the chronology of the events, documenting the destruction, refugee camps, and the culture and identity of the Kurdish people. Maryam's work is also about empathy and invisible wounds, capturing expressions that speak more than long speeches.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 28 December 2021
Publisher: Hemeria

Maryam Ashrafi is a social documentary photographer who believes in long-term projects, choosing to stay behind the front lines and observe the daily lives of combatants. This includes a lot of waiting around, as she is primarily involved in documenting the everyday life on the Kurdish front. Her work puts a face on a widely commented war, which remains, from afar, perceived mainly by the West in terms of the number of refugees.

Maryam documents the war in her own way, stressing its complexities and the actual building of a new social model based on equality where women occupy the same roles as men. This is remarkable in this area of the world. Over the years, she has returned to the same places, from Kobane to Tabqa, to show the unique power of the resilience of the population and the will to live and change.

The struggle of the Kurdish people and their fight for freedom and fundamental rights have not come to an end, and therefore this book cannot portray all of their journeys. Yet, I believe, as a witness, I owe it to history and to those I have met for sharing some of these images in this book to show part of their journey to freedom and equality.

The book is built on the chronology of the events as documented by Maryam Ashrafi, to understand the evolution of the conflict and its consequences on the populations and their living environment. Photographer James Nachtwey once made a point about such war photographs shown in museums or in a book: it is a space for reflection on the universality of the dramas that humanity is going through in its entirety.

During her travels, Maryam Ashrafi has created a body of images that highlight very important topics as they are an immediate consequence of the war. These images show the destruction of cities, the displacement of populations, and the human suffering caused by the conflict. They also highlight the resilience of the Kurdish people and their determination to rebuild their lives and their communities.

Maryam's work is a powerful testament to the human cost of war and the need for peace and reconciliation. It reminds us of the importance of documenting the events of our time and of the responsibility we have to share these images with the world to promote understanding and empathy.

In conclusion, Maryam Ashrafi is a remarkable photographer who has dedicated her life to documenting the struggles of the Kurdish people and their fight for freedom and equality. Her work puts a face on a widely commented war, which remains, from afar, perceived mainly by the West in terms of the number of refugees. Through her images, she highlights the complexities of the conflict and the human suffering caused by it. She also shows the resilience of the Kurdish people and their determination to rebuild their lives and their communities. Maryam's work is a powerful testament to the human cost of war and the need for peace and reconciliation. It reminds us of the importance of documenting the events of our time and of the responsibility we have to share these images with the world to promote understanding and empathy.

Dimension: 254 x 203 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9782490952168