Hashem El Madani: Promenades - An Ongoing Project by Akram Zaatari/ Akram Zaatari and Karl Bassil

First published with artist's exhibition at The Photographer's Gallery, London in 2004. The Madani Project' takes shape as a series of thematic exhibitions, publications and videos centered on Hashem El Madani and his archive. Hashim El Madani's photographic work is tied to the city of Saida in South Lebanon where he has worked for over 55 years and founded Studio Shehrazade. Motivated by the wish to expand his business, he set out to expand his business, he set out to become the collector of portraits of all Saida's families. He also photographed people in the studio, on the street, at home, in places of work, promenades and sometimes during out-of-city excursions. His unique archive reflects the very fabric of an Arab town in the middle of the 20th century. Hashem el Madani set up his first studio in his parents' living room in 1948 and as his business grew he moved, in 1953, to a modern space on the first floor of the prestigious Shehrazade building, which he uses still today. This first publication of his work concentrates on the idea of the studio, exploring how Madani's exemplary practice of studio photography is both descriptive and inscriptive of social identities. Madani's studio created a site where individuals could act out identities using the conventions of portrait photography, with the poses inspired by the desires of the sitters. These photographs reflect not only how people look, but also how they desire to be seen.' - from back cover.

English