14 min
Zaatari combines the skills of a historian, a curator and an artist. He is interested in salvaging and preserving the past, in challenging the perceived norms of history. ‘Diversity is the most important factor in resisting misrepresentation’ he stated. ‘Focusing on iniduality thus becomes a political mission.’ Akram Zaatari was born in 1966 in Saida, Lebanon. He lives and works in Beirut.
“People often asked if they could pose with the Kodak advertisement where a full scale woman is featured with a camera offering Kodak rolls...
“While taking the picture it was challenging to make the boys sit properly without moving...
“People often asked if they could pose with the Kodak advertisement where a full scale woman is featured with a camera offering Kodak rolls...
“People often asked if they could pose with the Kodak advertisement where a full scale woman is featured with a camera offering Kodak rolls...
“When you position your hand on someone’s shoulder, your shoulders become straight and horizontal...
“Other photographers used to send me negatives of cross-eyed people, asking me to retouch them...
“These are negatives that were scratched because of a jealous husband from the Baqari family, who never let his wife out by herself...
“In the 1980s I started using coloured paper backdrops, one of which was yellow...
“The two men were relatives and both were in the Lebanese Army.” Hashem El Madani...