Sunday, February 23, 2025

Nabil Harb: Mater si, magistra no
Light Work Gallery

Light Work Gallery
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

Nabil Harb's project "Mater si, magistra no" (a macaronic phrase that translates as "Mother yes, teacher no") presents photographs that describe and depict moments and scenes within his hometown of Lakeland in Polk County, FL. This Central Florida location is both the backdrop and main character of Harb's visual narrative: a story that emits surreal qualities which twist ideas of the region through photography's formal language into a conceptual idea — an idea of how to describe the atmosphere of a place without words. Harb writes, "The landscape is the perfect reflection of our society, our ultimate index — it holds our histories, our secrets, our failures, and our hopes for the future."