X-rayed in Palestine 🩻
& an evening with Patti.
Last week, I saw Patti Smith at a historic synagogue in DC’s chinatown. She’s on tour for her latest project, A Book of Days, a compilation of 366 photos - some digital, some Polaroid - accompanied by sparse text. One photo for each day of the year, including February 29th. Standing between two acoustic guitars, Patti told stories of the moments she had captured — elegant and understated. Being in Patti’s presence felt like we were in her living room, sitting cross-legged on the floor, captivated by her gentle humor and meandering thoughts.
What I love about Patti Smith, in all her artistic forms, is the ease embodied by her storytelling. Curled up on my couch in Gaza one evening, I read M Train in one sitting like it was a letter from a friend. Whether through poetry or photography, Patti has a way of piercing through the mundane to reveal the divinity within.
As a fledgling writer, it can be easy to fall into the trap of striving – striving to be profound, unique, impactful, memorable. Patti’s work embodies all those qualities, rooted not in striving, but from a place of deep self acceptance. A place of noticing for the sake of noticing. An evening with Patti is a reminder that the greatest art comes from simply being yourself.
Inspired by Patti, here is some photography of my own — a project of noticing. In 2021, in the weeks before my departure from Palestine, I bought a broken-but-functional-enough camera from an antique store in Gaza and a few rolls of film in Ramallah. Grappling with separation anxiety, I turned to photography as a way to be on the lookout for the magic in the mundane. My dinky camera traveled with me in and out of Gaza, enduring harsh checkpoints and inspections, and eventually made it to a photo lab in New Jersey, where I had the film developed.
“The film was damaged,” the photo lab guy said. “Looks like they were x-rayed. So your photos are grainy. Sorry about that.”
“Yeah. They were x-rayed a ton.”
“Why?”
“Getting x-rayed was part of my commute.”
I opened the envelope, bracing myself for unintelligible photos. What I found was beauty scarred, but not tarnished. The images looked so much older than they are in reality—images that look like dreams. My memories of Palestine feel that way too: forever ago and yesterday all at once.
So here they are. Moments, noticed by me, across Palestine. Places and people that resist harsh, trespassing x-rays.
Beautiful pics! they're dripping with nostalgia :)
Love and dua as always. There is something unique about Palestine which sears memories of all kinds on the soul ; the dastardly dehumanization to the reliance of a people resisting the harshest of sanctions, walls, check points, and blockades to life itself.
Pictures are great !