Life through the eyes of a Bedouin family

Abdullah al Manaja’a and a camel. Photo by his sister Muna al Manaja’a, Humayma, 2007. (The names of all the participating women, including “Muna” have been altered at the request of the family.)

Through July 30, UVic’s McPherson Library Gallery features an exhibition of photographs by the al Manaja’as, a Bedouin family of the Howeitat tribe from Humayma, Jordan, a region of great historical cultural interchange. Inverting the Lens: Photography by the al Manaja’a family, Humayma, Jordan, was curated by interdisciplinary student Robbyn Gordon Lanning. It features familial self-portraits that show how the al Manaja’as see photography as a way of documenting their lives and experiences for themselves, their families and for cultural outsiders.