Ordinary Lives, is a remarkable collection of images from three of Rania Matar's interconnected bodies of work: The Aftermath Of War, The Veil and The Forgotten People. The first focuses on the aftermath of the Lebanese Civil war that lasted from 1975-1990, the war between Hezbollah and Israel in the Summer of 2006 and the conflict between the Lebanese army and suspected terrorists who infiltrated Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in Tripoli in 2007. Based on that description one might assume that these images portray the darkness and destruction from the impact of war. But Matar has the rare gift of finding hope in the face of darkness and tragedy by capturing the resilience of the people through the normalcy of daily life in an environment riddled with the scars of war. One of the many images that encompass this message flawlessly is Barbie Girl. In this photograph a proud mother smiles at a toddler dressed in a Barbie T-shirt as she gleefully runs in front of destroyed homes, oblivious to the massive wrecking ball that is shattering them. In the face of conflict and contradictions like these, hope and spirit run through Matar's images. They provide the implication of sameness, regardless of political, spiritual or cultural backgrounds.



The Veil: Modesty, Fashion, Devotion or Statement examines the veil or Hajib and its comeback as a decision of choice for many Lebanese women. Again, the message is not of cultural differences amongst women, but of equivalence � we all have the same hopes and dreams despite diversity. One of my favorite images expressing this message is Newspapers, Beirut, 2007, in which four women sit reading the same newspaper, three dressed in traditional headscarves and the fourth in Western clothing.




In the final group of images, The Forgotten People, Matar concentrates on the daily life of Palestinian refugees living in Lebanese camps, some for three or four generations. The refugees live in deplorable conditions and are not integrated into Lebanese society, yet once again, the negativity of their surroundings virtually vanish as the spirit of the people rises in every frame Matar shoots. Perhaps Anthony Shadid describes Matar's work best. In his accompanying essay he writes, "No one will forget the women and children in the pages that follow, the ordinary lives in times that are cursed by being anything but ordinary." —Susan Burnstine