Wafa’a and Samira, Bourj El Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut Lebanon, 2016. Copyright Rania Matar.
Born in Lebanon, Rania Matar left her homeland during the Civil War to study architecture at Cornell University in upstate New York. But it was September 11 that would be the turning point in her life, as she decided to pursue a career in photography as a means to create an empowering and inclusive narrative.
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While her work is not overtly political, it bears witness to the nature of girl and womanhood in both the East and the West. Photographing in New York, Boston, Beirut, and Palestinian refugee camps, Matar discovered that no matter what the circumstances, women all have more in common than not.
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“The focus on our differences is so artificial,” Matar observes. “I am from Lebanon and the United States, and I am the same person whether I am there or here. Nothing changes in the way I live and act. The label of having to be one thing is very limiting in the sense of identity.”
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Destiny, Dorcester, Massachusetts, 2010. Copyright Rania Matar.