Through Their Lens: 4 Photographers Reframing How the Arab World Sees Itself

Four Arab photographers are transforming the way the region is perceived—shifting focus from spectacle to presence, and from external narratives to intimate acts of witnessing, memory, and resilience. Across the Arab world, a new generation is reshaping the gaze, turning the region from a mere subject of observation into a voice that reflects back.

Their work moves beyond representation, emphasizing presence: how a place breathes, how a body holds memories, and how exile shapes a new sense of belonging. These photographers do not just document the Arab world; they redefine its capacity to imagine itself.

Hicham Gardaf’s Poetic Urban Testimony

Moroccan photographer Hicham Gardaf captures cities on the cusp of change, suspended between memory and disappearance. His art combines documentary style with poetic reflection, using landscapes as metaphors for what fades before being archived.

Empty lots, unclaimed spaces, and unfinished outskirts convey places that are present yet vanishing.
His work reveals how the future sometimes rushes ahead, leaving history unable to keep up.
He treats urban geography as testimony, exposing the fragile balance between past and progress.
Gardaf’s images reject polished narratives of modernization, instead displaying delicate traces:

"Instead of monumental vistas, he shows fragile traces, a wall half-standing, a horizon cut mid-breath, the last fragment of a view before it is absorbed by concrete."

His photographs invite reflection on the silent negotiations that shape cities and memory, revealing a nuanced dialogue between decay and renewal.

Author’s summary: These photographers transform the Arab world’s image from external spectacle to a nuanced voice of memory and resilience, revealing intimate acts of witnessing and urban transformation.

Vogue Arabia — 2025-11-06

Through Their Lens: 4 Photographers Reframing How the Arab World Sees Itself

Hicham Gardaf’s Poetic Urban Testimony

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