Samira at 13, Bourj El-Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut

Rania Matar

2013

Archival pigment print

Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

Rania Matar (Born 1964 in Beirut) grapples with issues of personal and collective identity in her work. Born in Lebanon, Matar has lived in the United States since 1984. Drawing on her cultural background, cross-cultural experiences, and personal narrative, she has produced photographic series focused on womanhood, adolescence, and periods of individual evolution. Since 2005, Matar has collaborated with Samira, a third-generation Palestinian refugee who Matar met at the Bourj El-Barajneh Camp on the outskirts of Beirut. While the earliest images are taken inside the refugee camp, later images record Samira and Matar on ventures outs