An Expression of Absence

An Expression of Absence
Oct 28, 2022 – Dec 18, 2022

614 Courtlandt Avenue
New York, NY 10451

The Bronx Documentary Center and Magnum Foundation present An Expression of Absence, an exhibit taking inspiration from poet Mahmoud Darwish and critic John Berger to explore the ways photography conjures absence to represent time, memory, disappearance, loss, and erasure. In a context where the legacies of colonialism and political instability have imbued notions of home and belonging with impermanence and nostalgia, how can what's within the frame point to the hidden and missing?

“No matter how near you come, you will remain distant. No matter how often you are killed, you will live. So do not think that you are dead there, and alive here. Nothing proves this or that but metaphor.” – Mahmoud Darwish, In the Presence of Absence

“A friend came to see me in a dream. From far away. And I asked him in the dream: ‘Did you come by photograph or train?’ All photographs are a form of transport, and an expression of absence.” – John Berger and Jean Mohr, A Seventh Man

The exhibit, which is divided in two parts displayed at the BDC and Magnum Foundation, features fifteen projects produced in the Arab Documentary Photography Program (ADPP). Many of these works move from the exterior realms of the public and the political to the interior domains of the mind and body, while others explore absent histories whose spirits populate the present.

Founded in 2014 in the wake of the Arab Spring, ADPP provides support and mentorship to photographers from across the Middle East and North Africa, challenging entrenched stereotypes of the region. Since its founding, ADPP has supported over 86 photographers and formed an extended community of creative cross-pollination that circumvents geographies and political barriers.

Featuring photography by: Abd Doumany I Ameen Abo Kaseem I Dania Hany I Hicham Gardaf I Maen Hammad I Nadia Bseiso I Omar Imam I Seif Kousmate I Thana Faroq I Zied Ben Romdhane


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