About the Work
Emily Jacir’s photograph woman to woman shows the day-to-day encounters between soldiers and civilians in the midst of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. This rare glimpse of an interaction between a female Israeli soldier and a Palestinian woman—both made anonymous by their different headgear—challenges conventional portrayals of womanhood and feminism, while the camera's depth and perspective permits a view of the land so coveted by both peoples.
About the Artist
Palestinian artist Emily Jacir divides her time between New York and Ramallah in the West Bank. She is best known for presenting issues related to immigration and historical narratives of freedom and exile. Jacir employs her creativity to assert Arab identity through photography, film, installation, and performance. Because Jacir grew up in Saudi Arabia before moving to Rome for high school, she was exposed to issues of national and religious identity at a young age.
In 2008, Jacir won the biennial Hugo Boss Prize for significant achievement in contemporary art. The jurors said, "Emily Jacir combines the roles of archivist, activist, and poet to create poignant and memorable works of art that are at once intensely personal and deeply political." Her 2009 exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, Material for a Filmtold the story of the eleven Israeli athletes and coaches killed by Palestinian terrorists in the 1972 Olympics in Munich and the subsequent murder of Wael Zuaiter, who was killed in retribution for the attacks.
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