Sakir Khader’s wrenching, resilient portrait of Palestinian life

© Sakir Khader, Magnum Photos

Yawm al-Firak — Last year, the photographer became the first Palestinian member of the famed Magnum Photos agency. His new exhibition is a sharp window into the life under occupation, displacement and atrocities.

Content warning: This article contains images that some readers may find distressing.

In her 2003 essay, Regarding the Pain of Others, American writer Susan Sontag observed: “Ever since cameras were invented in 1839, photography has kept company with death.” The work – her final published book – considers more broadly the role of image-making in warfare, examining closely the part played by the person behind the camera, typically in scenes extreme in their horror. In the context of Palestinian-Dutch photographer Sakir Khader, whose current show at Foam highlights a particular strain of the brutality of the Israeli occupation, the weight of Sontag’s words is revisited. One later passage, especially, helped inform the making of the show:

“Let the atrocious images haunt us. The images say: This is what human beings are capable of doing. Don’t forget.”

This sentiment, effectively a call to action to bear witness, is echoed in Yawm al-Firak (an Arabic phrase meaning Day of Separation), Khader’s first institutional show. It foregrounds the stories of seven young men killed in the West Bank, and the mothers grieving their loss – men and women Khader befriended in Jenin and Nablus on visits between 2021 and 2024. “They’re not subjects for me,” he clarifies. “They’re people, friends. I try to see what’s in their heart, to connect, and that’s the moment I like to photograph.”

Read next: Meet the crew who introduced skateboarding to Palestine

Shot in black-and-white, many of the photographs exhibited at Foam first appeared in last year’s monograph Dying to Exist, which highlighted – via 500 images including baby photos and Polaroids – the harshness of daily life for Palestinians living in the Jenin refugee camp. “Khader’s camera functions as both a witness and a tool, recording Palestine in real-time,” offers Foam curator Aya Musa. “His work is not merely a documentation of events but a confrontation with absence, loss, and memory.”

Broken souls. Jenin Refugee camp, Palestine, 2023 © Sakir Khader / Magnum Photos.
The battle of the olive fields. Beita, Nablus, 2021 © Sakir Khader / Magnum Photos.

The gallery space additionally features a series of video interviews made on a Hi8 camcorder, ‘Mothers of Martyrs’, as well as a bloodstained t-shirt of a grieving father, Kosay’s dad, which proposes a tangible understanding of the loss pictured. “By focusing on individual narratives, Khader creates a bridge between personal tragedy and collective memory,” continues Musa.

“Aya’s like a big brother to me,” the photographer notes separately, reflecting on how the collaboration shaped the exhibition. “So I felt very comfortable working with Foam. It’s a Western museum, and I was scared [initially] that it was going to be a battle – how many times do you see an exhibition from this perspective?”

Indeed, in a moment when countless museums and galleries across Europe and America are silencing artists who display support for a free Palestine, the significance of this show is heightened. In part, considers Khader, his invitation to exhibit is a by-product of his nomination from Magnum Photos – last July he became the first Palestinian photographer selected to join the historic photo agency since it was established in Paris in 1947.

Read next: History’s biggest moments, as seen by Magnum photographers

“I'm really honoured to be part of Magnum, but it’s also a win for them because the world I see, the world I walk in, is different than [that of] most Magnum photographers,” says Khader, alluding to his Middle Eastern identity. “If you look at the work Magnum has done in America for example, it portrays America as it is. And that's the win for Magnum having me, showing Palestine from within. I’m capturing history, working with people for long periods. My work is focused on life and death, that’s what I’m trying to contribute: showing us alive, showing the pain we endure, the injustice happening in our region, but also the strength of the people living through everything. There’s a lot of sadness, but also little moments of joy.”

“If you look at the work Magnum has done in America for example, it portrays America as it is. And that’s the win for Magnum having me, showing Palestine from within. My work is focused on life and death, that’s what I’m trying to contribute: showing us alive, showing the pain we endure, the injustice happening in our region, but also the strength of the people living through everything.” Sakir Khader

In one image then [the article’s header], a group of young men smile, play on their phones and smoke cigarettes, days before two of their party, Yassine and Ahmad, were killed in a drone strike. In another, a body is carried through a crowd for one final homecoming; elsewhere are striking solo portraits of the men’s mothers. “Khader’s photography engages with the concept of martyrdom, presenting interpretations shaped by history, faith, and resistance,” suggests Musa. “War and violence are universal, but the representation of suffering requires critical engagement. His work does not impose a singular reading but reveals the human dimension of those affected by war; he grants visibility to the countless Palestinian deaths, ensuring each individual's story is preserved and honoured.”

While the show’s moniker references an ancient Arabic poem about separation and farewell, the number seven is similarly symbolic, recalling the forced displacement of the 1948 Nakba, and the importance of unity. Here, the stories of the seven mothers and their sons speak to a wider narrative of farewells in times of occupation. “I always wanted to do something about our mothers, and Aya said: ‘Through the mothers you tell the stories of the sons, and the grief that’s happening in Palestine, from Gaza to the West Bank, because these mothers are symbolic for all the mothers.’” recalls Khader. “They are the backbone of our society, they are the mothers who have to endure the grief and the occupation, and they carry everything in their heart. Every mother can relate to these mothers, losing a son – either by war, by illness, or by car accident – is painful.”

“The meaning of images is never static. What is seen as an indictment today may be reinterpreted tomorrow, depending on geopolitical shifts. Khader’s work exists in this fluid space, where meaning is shaped by time and audience,” reflects Musa. “The boys depicted are connected to a reality where violence continues, and their stories echo through the lives of those who survive them.”

Mahmoud Khaled al- Ar’arawi. Jenin Refugee camp, Palestine, 2023 © Sakir Khader / Magnum Photos.
A mother waits to hold her murdered son, one last time before he departs to eternity. Qabatiya, Jenin, 2023 © Sakir Khader / Magnum Photos.

Yawm al-Firak by Sakir Khader is on view at Foam until May 14, 2025.

Follow Zoe on Instagram.

Buy your copy of Huck 81 here.

Enjoyed this article? Follow Huck on Instagram and sign up to our newsletter for more from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture.

Support stories like this by becoming a member of Club Huck.

Latest on Huck

Red shop frontage with "Open Out" branding and appointment-only signage.
Activism

Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims

Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Cyclists racing past Palestinian flag, yellow barriers, and spectators.
Sport

Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification

Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Crowded festival site with tents, stalls and an illuminated red double-decker bus. Groups of people, including children, milling about on the muddy ground.
© Alan Tash Lodge
Music

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture

Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Weathered wooden building with a tall spire, person on horseback in foreground.
Culture

Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South

Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Three orange book covers with the title "Foreign Fruit" against a dark background.
Culture

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”

Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.

Written by: Katie Goh

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.