About
Welcome to the online exhibition The Intimate Archives: Solidarity & Storytelling from Photographs of the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62). You can read a bit about the project in what follows here or go straight to the visual materials using the menu bar above. Regardless of how you choose to view this exhibition, It is recommended to accompany the images with a slowness that allows the subjects (and objects) to exist without overdetermining their meaning.
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The Intimate Archives: Solidarity & Storytelling from Photographs of the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62), a conflict that ended French colonial rule in Algeria, showcases a selection of images that do not come from a single archival home. While some of the photographs are borrowed from personal albums of loved ones and comrades from the war, others are excavated from places such as various press and media of the period, historic military sites, and even shops on eBay.
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The scattered archival existence of these photographs coheres with the anti-colonial resistance movement in which they were taken. The images rebel against a single frame and contain stories intrinsic to individual moments and journeys. Each photograph invites viewers to enter a disputed moment in Algerian and French history by slowing the gaze and witnessing the diverse roles and encounters of the conflict.
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This online exhibition exists in two parts.
While women’s militant participation in war is hardly new, the perennial fascination with women combatants often obscures the reality of their political motivations and experiences during war.
Stories in a Snapshot: FLN Moudjahidates pairs stories and photographs that give insight to the complexity of women’s roles in the Algerian Revolution.
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Text(ile) and Photo(graph) is a grid-like assemblage of distinct photographs of homemade Algerian flags, a symbol unique to Independence, in various settings and usages. The virtual display aims to present gestures with the Algerian flag as a typographical landscape that communicates the intricacy of support and struggle for an Independent Algeria.
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