As we Happen and Exist

Submitted By: Hiba

Location: Amman, Jordan

"Any form of art is a form of power; it has impact, it can affect change - it can not only move us, it makes us move." - Ossie Davis

When I think of what makes me who I am today, I think of every colour, every frame and very sky that I've fallen in love with during my photography journey. I've found beauty and piecing of myself in every square framed picture that I've ever captured. To me, art was all about crossing boundaries and seeing things in different ways that I've never seen before. There is such an indescribable holiness in the form of art in which we find ourselves within. Finding a way to express yourself is a privilege that only few people get during their life. I can't imagine how my life would've been if I hadn't been familiar with art and photography.

When I was growing up, I always felt like a part of me is missing and I've always felt like an outcast. I never fit in when I was in school, if it hadn't been to photography, I felt a rejection from everyone that would've scarred me for life. I've known incidents that would've dragged me down, but instead, I decided to take more photos and prove to myself, and everyone else that behind all their harsh words and judgmental nature lays beauty and meaning that could help make the world a better place. Despite the ignorance and cruelty and our corrupted economical and social disorders, there are ways in which I can make a change.

Photography offered me opportunities, including several job offers and voluntary work despite the fact that I haven't even graduated yet. I felt the world embrace me and my talents and I embraced it too. I started seeing everything and everyone, and even myself, from a new perspective.

I may not know what is ahead of me or how my life will turn out to be, but with art, I am not afraid anymore. I may fear the ocean's depths and the universe's black holes and probably whether I'll be able to meet new people and new places, but all I know is that as long as I have my lens and camera set, I will dedicate every inch of me to turning everything I see into art. Because beauty persists everything that surrounds us. Art as in smiles and dirt, light and air, stories and telephone conversations. Not what these things look like when they are photographed, filmed or painted; but what these things look like as they happen, as they exist. I will find inspiration in everything and everyone I meet. And I thank art for this gift.

"For I can see that in the midst of death life persists, in the midst of untruth truth persists, in the midst of darkness light persists." - Mahatma Gandhi