Re-worked family archive photograph. © Rich Wiles and Ruba al-Hindawi’s family.
Archive and Authorship
Exhibition “In which language do we dream”.
What is the archive they have used?
Rich Wiles is a documentary photographer who lived and worked for seven years in a refugee camp in Palestine, before returning to the North of England with his wife, a Palestinian refugee. Over a period of four years, he collaborated with the al-Hindawi family working with images from their archive of personal pictures raising debates surrounding issues of displacement, identity, resettlement, integration, and home.
What has stayed the same in their use compared to the original archival use?
Family pictures usually have a deep meaning to their owners and authors only. Through this amazing collaboration, Rich was able to create a whole new level of significance that brings up to whoever sees these images on a gallery all the social discussions related to the broader theme of the current refugee crisis, the Syrian war, etc. It’s not anymore just a family memoir, but a representation of a huge group of people going through similar struggles, challenges and overcomes.
What is different?
What began as a documentary/archiving project by Rich Wiles has grown into a significant collaboration. That’s something very unique. With Rich’s support and encouragement Ruba began photographing herself, her husband, and her children’s daily life as they navigated through resettlement and integration in UK.
Are you interested in using an archive in your work?
Yes, especially if I can directly or indirectly collaborate with people in the process.
And what exactly is an archive?
An archive is an organizational tool meant for the preservation of experiences, values, and stories. It is a way for us to re-tell our own lives and the stories of the world, at least from our personal perspectives as we re-read images later on time.
Re-worked family archive photograph. © Rich Wiles and Ruba al-Hindawi’s family.
Homero Aziz 