Essay

ArtsPiece: The Storytelling of Selim Harbi The Storytelling of Selim Harbi

“My photography is a journey from my invisible world, to another external visible one”

Selim Harbi

This week's ArtPiece focuses on the fascinating photo-documentary and multimedia work of Selim Harbi. Harbi is a documentary photographer who was born and raised in Tunis. Harbi's photo-documentary and multimedia works focus on the idea of telling the untold stories of individuals and communities with a particular interest in bringing to light today's sociopolitical issues. Harbi describes his work as collecting and telling "untold stories—stories that may explore surprising issues behind the seemingly ordinary." He is especially committed to being sensitive to and aware of his surroundings so that his work "reflects" what he sees in an authentic manner.

I was introduced to Harbi's work when I encountered an article about him on CNN (http://www.cnn.com/) , "Behind the Masks in West Africa (http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/14/travel/cnnphotos-behind-the-masks- west-africa/index.html) ." I was very taken by the beautiful images that were shown in the slideshow accompanying the article but what I found most compelling was the story that accompanied the images,

accompanying the article but what I found most compelling was the story that accompanied the images, which explained why the artist felt compelled to document these beautiful works of art (the masks) and to do in a way that would reveal the stories "behind the masks": "their meanings, the tribes they belonged to, the symbolism behind them." (Source: Behind the Masks... (http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/14/travel/cnnphotos-behind-the-masks-west-africa/index.html) .)

"Judith, 22, wears a mask of fertility from the Dogon ethnic group." (Photo by Selim Harbi, Caption source: Behind the Masks...

(http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/14/travel/cnnphotos-behind-the-masks-west-africa/index.html) .)

Harbi is not just a photographer but, instead, actively extends his photographic work into the realm of multimedia by creating works that use still and motion imagery as well as sound. In 2013, Harbi helped to found Afreekyama Collective, a Pan-African collective dedicated to " photojournalism and creative multimedia storytelling. (Source: http://www.selimharbi.com/biography) (http://www.selimharbi.com/biography)

In the brief interview below, Harbi discusses one of his multimedia narratives: a story about imprisoned drug users. You can view this work as well as more multimedia works by Harbi at the artist's website. (http://www.selimharbi.com/) The website also has links to the artist's photo stories, including the "Behind the Masks" project discussed here.

Interview with Sélim Harbi

Selim Harbi Interview