Magnum Photos Blog

From the Archive: Then Palestine 

August 5, 2014 
by Larry Towell 
"Then Palestine", is a rich image collection from Larry Towell's seven trips to Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem from 1993-1997. At the height of the first Palestinian intifada in 1993, Towell trained his lens on Israel's displaced Arab populations living under occupation, documenting Arab-Israeli relations there over a period of five years. Conflicting lives, like disorder, violence, and even death, are the norm in Palestine; it is a part of daily life. Towell's photography, alongside poetry by the award-winning Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, tells a story of two worlds struggling to survive while endeavoring to somehow live together. (The afterword includes excerpts from the journals Towell recorded while traveling in Palestine.)