Evidence
Evidence is the cumulation of six years work on political disappearance by the photographer Diana Matar. Years ago the artist’s father-in-law, a Libyan opposition leader, was kidnapped by the Egyptian secret service and handed over to the Gaddafi regime; he has been missing ever since.
The first third of the book is a meditation on absence told through photographs and excerpts of letters written by the artist to her missing father-in-law, Jaballa. Slowly the book begins to change as it is made clear that Jaballa’s actions have implications for her own life and her family’s safety. As she travels through London, Libya, Italy and California, the images and diary entries take one on a journey through contemporary history. Crafted as an homage to one man, the book shows the cruel effects of dictatorship on intimate relationships and family life.
Diana Matar
Diana Matar is an artist working with photography, testimony, and archive. Using image, sound, and text, her bodies of work investigate issues of history, memory, and state sponsored violence. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Diana Matar has been the recipient of the Deutsche Bank Pyramid Award for Fine Art, the International Fund for Documentary Photography Award, The Arts Council of England Individual Artist Grant twice, and has been nominated for Prix Pictet award. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections and is published and exhibited internationally. An installation of her work Evidence is currently showing at Tate Modern in Conflict Time Photography. Her first Monograph, Evidence, was released in November 2014 by Schilt Publishing Amsterdam at Paris Photo.