São Paulo – Palestinians and Israelis separated by high walls with words of protest written on them, or sharing the same side of the street. In the buses, on the sidewalks, two peoples and two cultures coexisting as occupants and occupied. Such is the context underlying the show “Entre Muros e Ideias” (Amid Walls and Ideas), by the São Paulo-based photographer Marcos Muniz, featuring at São Paulo’s Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS) up until October 28.
The 19 images comprising the show are the result of a ten-day trip of Muniz’s to Israel and the occupied territories of Palestine, in 2010, during which he travelled to the cities of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Passionate about Arab culture and a graffiti fan, Muniz turned his attention to the big walls which are part of the landscape of those cities, spiked with words of protest and calls for a free Palestine. “It’s the power of communication. The walls reflect what the people feel,” he says.
“I sensed that not only there are physicals barriers such as the checkpoints but also ideological ones,” says the photographer of the trip. He talks about his contact with the locals during walks and the photo shoots. “In the streets I met lots of people. I would stop people to talk and whenever they would see me with the camera, they would stop me to ask about the photos.”
He explains that before taking the trip, all he knew about the Arab world was what the media broadcasted. Upon witnessing the situation of Palestinians up close, he felt “a tension, a rupture between the two cultures.” “I sense that they are disillusioned, embittered. I don’t mean to say that they are hateful, but I noticed a feeling of powerlessness,” he says.
The entire show is reminiscent of a multi-religious atmosphere. The sound of people singing excerpts from the Koran and the Torah helps visitors get in the mood of the dual environs of coexistence between Arabs and Jews.
The images of civilians and soldiers sharing the same premises gives an idea of the stark contrast involved in the situations of Palestinians and Israeli. “It’s a dream of all Arabs and Muslims for Palestine to be freed,” says Khalil Siagh, an Algerian student who visited the show.
In one attention-grabbing photograph, two men walk side by side, one wearing Bermuda shorts and flip flops, and the other in a uniform and toting a rifle. The hijab-wearing Arab women standing on one sidewalk by two orthodox Jews in their black attire and hats highlight the cultural and religious chasm in the Holy Land.
According to Muniz, the show is not meant to take either side. To him, the photographs are the result of a foreign eye on the coexistence of Palestinians and Israelis. “I wanted to raise questions and cause people to think. Photographs is not just art, it must move the people,” says.
Service
Show “Entre Muros e Ideias” (Amid Walls and Ideas)
Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS)
Avenida Europa, 158, Jardim Europa, São Paulo – SP
Tuesdays to Saturday from 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm; Sundays and holidays from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm
Until October 28
Admittance is free
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
