Tanya Habjouqa’s artistic practice explores manifestations of trauma upon the landscape, as well as intimate spaces and interpersonal relationships by means of imagery, archival material, ethnographic interviews, and handwritten text.
Born in Jordan and raised between Texas and the Middle East, Habjouqa fuses a mordant sense of irony with unstinting, forensic interrogations of the implications of geopolitical conflict on human lives. There is always a layer of gravitas and an intuitive sense of metaphor beneath her work. Largely focusing on the Middle East, Habjouqa’s work on Palestine-Israel has been cited as a powerful investigation of the cross-currents of religion, politics, economics, and cultural production. Her photographic series, Occupied Pleasures received critical acclaim from Time Magazine and the Smithsonian. The project also was presented with a World Press Photo award.
As a leading advocate for new methods in photojournalism and documentary practice, Tanya is the co-founder of the Middle East visual storyteller organization, Ruwa, and also a mentor in the Arab Documentary Program; an organisation that provides marginalized narrative-creators and their narratives with the space and skills to refine and tell stories. She is an artist, educator, and a member of NOOR Images. Tanya Habjouqa is represented by East Wing.
