Hashem El Madani and the private lives of the Lebanese

By S.J.

HIS STUDIO was named after Scheherazade, the heroine of “One Thousand and One Nights” who evaded execution by weaving stories. It became a place as creative and alluring as its namesake: a space where ordinary people could highlight hidden versions of themselves or invent new alter egos. Sitters frequently used props—sometimes even bringing their own—in the name of verisimilitude. Hashem El Madani captured the unusual, often revelatory, results.

The work of the photographer, who died on August 8th, is fascinating both in terms of its artistry and its historicity. El Madani captured 90% of the inhabitants of Saida, Lebanon, over the course of five decades; his archive of more than 75,000 images provides a unique in-road into Lebanon’s changing social norms, pop culture interests and family dynamics from the 1950s until the end of the civil war in 1990. Sometimes whimsical, sometimes serious, these photographs offer a glimpse of the interests, fears and desires of ordinary Lebanese citizens.