Tamara Abdul Hadi is an independent photographer born to Iraqi parents in the United Arab Emirates and raised in Montreal, Canada. Abdul Hadi’s work explores the complexity and idiosyncrasy of minority communities that are often subjected to stereotypes and under-representation interchangeably. Her work also touches on ideas of masculinity and self-representation and has been successfully published in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, VICE, etc.
Along with being a photographer, Tamara is also an educator who has given photography workshops in Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, the UAE, Kuwait, and Tunisia. Back In 2016, Tamara, along with her collective Rawiya, presented a documentary photography storytelling workshop in Gaza.
Bored Panda reached out to the photographer to find out more.
“I am an Iraqi photographer whose work is concerned with the historic and contemporary representation of my culture, in its diversity. Photography allows me to express, question, and be curious.”
More info: Instagram | tamarabdulhadi.com
#1
Buffalo Child.
Nihaya, around 10 years old (they often don’t know their exact ages here) sits on her family’s buffalo at sunrise in the Marshes. I spent the night in Nihaya’s family’s reed house and woke up to the young women of the family milking the buffalos along with their father and brothers.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#2
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#3
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#4
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#5
2009/2015.
The cemetery of Bab il Nasr in Cairo has been home to hundreds of families living among their deceased ancestors for the past 60 years. This sprawling cemetery is located in central Cairo, near the Imam Hussein Mosque. ‘This is a cemetery of the living’, says Mohammed Abdel Lateef. He lives with 9 other family members in their family’s section of the graveyard. Mohammed, in his thirties, and his siblings, Hussien, Ahmed, and Ahlam, were born here.
“This has been my home since 1966,” says Haj Abdel Lateef, Mohammed’s father, and the family’s patriarch. He and his wife Atiyat have raised 5 children here. They went to schools nearby, work in the area, and now have children of their own.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#6
Banin, around 10 years old (they often don’t know their exact ages here), sits on her favorite buffalo near her home in the Iraqi Marshlands. Banin was a very high spirited young lady who took me around, introducing me to her many family members.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#7
2009/2015.
The cemetery of Bab il Nasr in Cairo has been home to hundreds of families living among their deceased ancestors for the past 60 years. This sprawling cemetery is located in central Cairo, near the Imam Hussein Mosque. ‘This is a cemetery of the living’, says Mohammed Abdel Lateef. He lives with 9 other family members in their family’s section of the graveyard. Mohammed, in his thirties, and his siblings, Hussien, Ahmed, and Ahlam, were born here.
“This has been my home since 1966,” says Haj Abdel Lateef, Mohammed’s father, and the family’s patriarch. He and his wife Atiyat have raised 5 children here. They went to schools nearby, work in the area, and now have children of their own.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#8
Between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in what was once the center of ancient Mesopotamia, lies an area of wetland known as al-ahwar of southern Iraq (the Marshes). It was on this spot, between the 4th and 3rd millennium BCE, that Sumerians built their houses from reeds native to the marshlands, an ancient architectural practice still followed today. Far more recently, in the 1950s, the Iraqi government started draining the lands to support the extraction of a newly-discovered natural resource: oil.
The social and political life of the area changed again a few short decades later, in the 1980s and 1990s when Saddam Hussein further drained the lands as a way to prevent domestic rebels from seeking sanctuary there, and as punishment for anti-government activities supported by the area’s inhabitants. After the US- and UK-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, and the removal of the former regime, comprehensive efforts to repair the marshes and its ecosystem were initiated in earnest with the hope of restoring everyday life for the area’s people, the mi’dan. These images are part of series visualizing the people of the contemporary Iraqi Marshes.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#9
2009/2015.
The cemetery of Bab il Nasr in Cairo has been home to hundreds of families living among their deceased ancestors for the past 60 years. This sprawling cemetery is located in central Cairo, near the Imam Hussein Mosque. ‘This is a cemetery of the living’, says Mohammed Abdel Lateef. He lives with 9 other family members in their family’s section of the graveyard. Mohammed, in his thirties, and his siblings, Hussien, Ahmed, and Ahlam, were born here.
“This has been my home since 1966,” says Haj Abdel Lateef, Mohammed’s father, and the family’s patriarch. He and his wife Atiyat have raised 5 children here. They went to schools nearby, work in the area, and now have children of their own.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#10
Fade to Black is a portrait series documenting African asylum seekers’ barbershop culture in South Tel Aviv. These Muslim and Christian Sudanese, Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees have made the Levinsky Park neighborhood home, where they run barbershops, restaurants, and clothing stores. Finding their communities in the midst of being discriminated against systemically by their ‘chosen home’.
This series was born out of an appreciation for their personal style and their self-expression through their fashion and hairstyles. From 2006-2012, a large influx of African asylum seekers arrived in Israel, with many having been trafficked through the Sinai Peninsula. Currently, about 38,000 of them are facing deportation.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#11
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#12
Meet Mohammad. He is a 22-year-old Syrian refugee currently in Lebanon. Mohammad suffers from the muscle disease myopathy, and as time goes by, he will slowly lose functionality in all his limbs. Mohammad and 3 of his siblings all suffer from the disease.
In this photo, Mohamad does one of his favorite things, sitting in the sunshine outside his home.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#13
Playing cards in an empty swimming pool.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#14
This ‘war machine graveyard’ in Sulimaniyah, Kurdistan -Northern Iraq- is a grim reminder of decades of war in Iraq. Mountains of used missiles, US military tanks, humvees, and other used weaponry fill the landscape.
This landscape speaks volumes as to the result of the destruction, occupation, and violence that this country has witnessed in the last 30 years.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#15
Al Amari, Ramallah.
The lives of people living in marginalized communities can be tremendously underrepresented. Who they are, their lives, and their stories are often undocumented. Do they choose how to represent their own photo? Are they given the option to imagine themselves richly in their own eyes? This project goes beyond the idea of people snapping their own photographs, it is an interactive exercise where people have the ability to control their own image and for once, decide how to represent themselves.
This project was inspired by the Handsworth Self Portrait, Birmingham, 1979.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#16
Meet Mohammad. He just turned 6 years old and like his siblings Bayan (12) and Zamzam (8) he has myopathy. The siblings recently received orthopedic devices that will help with their movement. In this photo, Mohammad tries his out at home.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#17
Between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in what was once the center of ancient Mesopotamia, lies an area of wetland known as al-ahwar of southern Iraq (the Marshes). It was on this spot, between the 4th and 3rd millennium BCE, that Sumerians built their houses from reeds native to the marshlands, an ancient architectural practice still followed today. Far more recently, in the 1950s, the Iraqi government started draining the lands to support the extraction of a newly-discovered natural resource: oil.
The social and political life of the area changed again a few short decades later, in the 1980s and 1990s when Saddam Hussein further drained the lands as a way to prevent domestic rebels from seeking sanctuary there, and as punishment for anti-government activities supported by the area’s inhabitants. After the US- and UK-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, and the removal of the former regime, comprehensive efforts to repair the marshes and its ecosystem were initiated in earnest with the hope of restoring everyday life for the area’s people, the mi’dan. These images are part of series visualizing the people of the contemporary Iraqi Marshes.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#18
Cheerleaders.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#19
Zahra and Mohamad, along with their parents, waiting to be picked up and taken to their weekly physiotherapy sessions.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#20
2009-2014.
Started in 2009, this portrait series is part of a large body of work capturing semi-nude Arab men of diverse backgrounds.
The conceptual aim of this portrait series is two-fold: Trying to uncover and break the stereotypes placed upon the Arab male, and providing an alternative visual representation of that identity. Secondly, it is a celebration of their sensual beauty, an unexplored aspect of the identity of the contemporary Arab man, on the cusp of change in a society that reveres an out-dated form of hyper-masculinity.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#21
Spotted.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#22
Photographs of young men pre, mid, and during flight, diving into the sea surrounding Beirut, Akka, Tunis, and Gaza.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#23
Al Amari, Ramallah.
The lives of people living in marginalized communities can be tremendously underrepresented. Who they are, their lives, and their stories are often undocumented. Do they choose how to represent their own photo? Are they given the option to imagine themselves richly in their own eyes? This project goes beyond the idea of people snapping their own photographs, it is an interactive exercise where people have the ability to control their own image and for once, decide how to represent themselves.
This project was inspired by the Handsworth Self Portrait, Birmingham, 1979.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#24
Best friends.
Meet Karrar and Falah. They dressed alike on purpose that day. 19 and 25 years old respectively, they are from Chabayish, on the banks of the Euphrates, a 10-minute boat drive to the Marsh Islands.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#25
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#26
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#27
2009-2014.
Started in 2009, this portrait series is part of a large body of work capturing semi-nude Arab men of diverse backgrounds.
The conceptual aim of this portrait series is two-fold: Trying to uncover and break the stereotypes placed upon the Arab male, and providing an alternative visual representation of that identity. Secondly, it is a celebration of their sensual beauty, an unexplored aspect of the identity of the contemporary Arab man, on the cusp of change in a society that reveres an out-dated form of hyper-masculinity.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#28
Abdullah.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#29
I came across Arakel this morning while he was having a cigarette at the door of his house.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#30
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#31
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#32
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#33
Seven is a series of images documenting the destruction of a Palestinian neighborhood in the city of Lyd, in Occupied Palestine. 7 homes belonging to the Abu Eid family were reduced to rubble when the Israeli military destroyed the neighborhood in December 2010 leaving them to sleep in tents next to their former homes. These are images of the tents in the aftermath.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#34
‘Najaf is a place for burying, not for living’ – Iraqi proverb.
Wadi As-Salam [eng; Valley of Peace], is a cemetery located in Najaf, a province in the Western part of Central Iraq. Najaf is distinguished by this vast cemetery (over 5 million people are buried here), which is considered to be the second largest and oldest cemetery in the world. The cemetery is home to generations upon generations of Iraqis and Shiaa’s gone past and has also bore witness to generations of turmoil and war both directly on its land and beneath it. It also saw fierce battles between US troops and the Mehdi army during the battle for Najaf in 2004.
The symbolic value of the cemetery’s name nestled in a nation so overcome by war is what compelled this photo series.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#35
‘Najaf is a place for burying, not for living’ – Iraqi proverb
Wadi As-Salam [eng; Valley of Peace], is a cemetery located in Najaf, a province in the Western part of Central Iraq. Najaf is distinguished by this vast cemetery (over 5 million people are buried here), which is considered to be the second largest and oldest cemetery in the world. The cemetery is home to generations upon generations of Iraqis and Shiaa’s gone past and has also bore witness to generations of turmoil and war both directly on its land and beneath it. It also saw fierce battles between US troops and the Mehdi army during the battle for Najaf in 2004.
The symbolic value of the cemetery’s name nestled in a nation so overcome by war is what compelled this photo series.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#36
Ahmed and his horse(s).
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#37
Thank you to this kind gentleman for letting me photograph him out of my appreciation for his pink on pink combo.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#38
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#39
Fade to Black is a portrait series documenting African asylum seekers’ barbershop culture in South Tel Aviv. These Muslim and Christian Sudanese, Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees have made the Levinsky Park neighborhood home, where they run barbershops, restaurants, and clothing stores. Finding their communities in the midst of being discriminated against systemically by their ‘chosen home’.
This series was born out of an appreciation for their personal style and their self-expression through their fashion and hairstyles. From 2006-2012, a large influx of African asylum seekers arrived in Israel, with many having been trafficked through the Sinai Peninsula. Currently, about 38,000 of them are facing deportation.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#40
This ‘war machine graveyard’ in Sulimaniyah, Kurdistan -Northern Iraq- is a grim reminder of decades of war in Iraq. Mountains of used missiles, US military tanks, humvees, and other used weaponry fill the landscape.
This landscape speaks volumes as to the result of the destruction, occupation, and violence that this country has witnessed in the last 30 years.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#41
Beirut: Abdel Atheem is a hair artist. He practices his art at his barbershop “Salon El Raqi” which roughly translates to “Elegant Salon” in the Naba’a neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon. Abdel Atheem is from Raqqa in Syria and is displaced in Beirut. His specialties include a beard trim and black dye combination.
Ramallah: Tamer Shehadeh wants to bring Palestinian hairdressing worldwide. Shehadeh owns “Salon Tamer” that began as a small shop in the Qalandia refugee camp in Ramallah and has grown into a much larger shop on a main street in the city. Tamer specializes in facial treatments, gold face masks, and waxes.
Gaza: Mohamad Bakir is a hairdresser in the city of Gaza. He inherited his barbershop “Salon Rimal” from his father and grooms most of the football players of the city. Bakir released his book “Historical Encyclopedia of Hairdressing in Gaza” in 2016.
“The People’s Salon” is a celebration of the burgeoning creative talent that is designing and shaping our men’s hair. It is an appreciation of their personal style and their self-expression through self-care and hairstyles.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#42
Seven is a series of images documenting the destruction of a Palestinian neighborhood in the city of Lyd, in Occupied Palestine. 7 homes belonging to the Abu Eid family were reduced to rubble when the Israeli military destroyed the neighborhood in December 2010 leaving them to sleep in tents next to their former homes. These are images of the tents in the aftermath.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#43
Roi and Marvin, uncle and nephew.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#44
Marshland Outtakes part two. She was milking the buffalo with her father when I met her.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#45
Roumieh.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#46
Sun, sea, cigarette.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#47
‘Najaf is a place for burying, not for living’ – Iraqi proverb.
Wadi As-Salam [eng; Valley of Peace], is a cemetery located in Najaf, a province in the Western part of Central Iraq. Najaf is distinguished by this vast cemetery (over 5 million people are buried here), which is considered to be the second largest and oldest cemetery in the world. The cemetery is home to generations upon generations of Iraqis and Shiaa’s gone past and has also bore witness to generations of turmoil and war both directly on its land and beneath it. It also saw fierce battles between US troops and the Mehdi army during the battle for Najaf in 2004.
The symbolic value of the cemetery’s name nestled in a nation so overcome by war is what compelled this photo series.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#48
Sea battle.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#49
Balcony chat with Bashar in Beirut.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#50
Photographs of young men pre, mid, and during flight, diving into the sea surrounding Beirut, Akka, Tunis, and Gaza.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#51
Beirut: Abdel Atheem is a hair artist. He practices his art at his barbershop “Salon El Raqi” which roughly translates to “Elegant Salon” in the Naba’a neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon. Abdel Atheem is from Raqqa in Syria and is displaced in Beirut. His specialties include a beard trim and black dye combination.
Ramallah: Tamer Shehadeh wants to bring Palestinian hairdressing worldwide. Shehadeh owns “Salon Tamer” that began as a small shop in the Qalandia refugee camp in Ramallah and has grown into a much larger shop on a main street in the city. Tamer specializes in facial treatments, gold face masks, and waxes.
Gaza: Mohamad Bakir is a hairdresser in the city of Gaza. He inherited his barbershop “Salon Rimal” from his father and grooms most of the football players of the city. Bakir released his book “Historical Encyclopedia of Hairdressing in Gaza” in 2016.
“The People’s Salon” is a celebration of the burgeoning creative talent that is designing and shaping our men’s hair. It is an appreciation of their personal style and their self-expression through self-care and hairstyles.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#52
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#53
Sun, sea, and cigarette.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#54
Not backing down.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#55
Mehdi, Abbas, and Eidan, hanging after school in the town of Chabayish, Southern Iraq, near the Iraqi Marshlands.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#56
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#57
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#58
Day 41.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#59
Sunday.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#60
Hamed.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
#61
Marvin and Maria with their uncle.
Image source: Tamara Abdul Hadi
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