Photographer and news hound, Ara Ayer, has thankfully begun posting his photo essays from Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The photos have a casual quality about them that make them feel familiar even when his lens to pointed towards jihadists or Cuban youth. Check out his site here.
Three series stand out:
First, his “Holy Land?” series focuses on the ironies of a place that seems simultaneously historical and futuristic–contradictions is an understatement. Among the gems, is one incredibly eerie image of Christopher Reeves (aka Superman) visiting the Wailing Wall.
Second, in “Apartheid Wall” there is a chilling photo of a woman carrying her child past the West Bank barrier (sprawled with the words “The Evil Wall”).
Third, “Belly Time” zooms in on the arcane world of Cairo’s belly dancing bars. An indigenous subculture, his photographs can look like something out of the 1960s, while others offer intimate glimpses into a world that seems hard to comprehend.
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