Artist Bio
Sophia Halik is a Palestinian photographer in the diaspora, born and raised in California. She is continuing to explore various photographic styles, finding particular passion in documentary and tableau photography, and experimenting with her film camera. She attends the University of California, Irvine studying Education Sciences. With her graduation approaching, she seeks to dedicate more time toward taking photos that capture the Palestinian struggle, and continue to uplift the liberation movement through educating local communities and engaging in grassroots organizing efforts. To experience more of her work, visit her instagram profile @soph.otography2
Artist Statement
As a Palestinian in the diaspora, I find myself in between two realities - one where my cultural roots lie deeply planted in the soil of Palestine, and the other where I am forced to be complicit in its destruction. It is within this duality that my photography emerges as a tool for storytelling, for resistance, and for liberation.
The boy wraps himself in the timeless symbol of Palestinian resistance, the keffiyeh. This scarf, often misused by the West to brand us all as terrorists, instead embodies the collective spirit of a people dehumanized by headlines and statistics. In the fabric of his lineage, the boy reminds us of the countless faces lost. These photographs seek to uncover the layers of oppression and occupation - revealing the resilience, dignity, and humanity that define unbreakable Palestinian spirit and culture.
This boy represents the flowers that grow despite contaminated rainwater and war-torn soil, the children that laugh through their third degree burns, the parents that sing lullabies to mask the sound of bombs. Like ancient olive trees, Palestinians stand tall and strong, reaching high into skies of quadcopter drones. Though amidst the rubble are seeds of resistance being planted daily, watered by global solidarity and tended by our martyrs.
These images are not only a visual testament to the past 76 years, but a manifestation of total liberation; liberation for Palestinians, and all those colonized, oppressed, and exploited globally. As we illuminate the interconnectedness of our struggles and engage in collective resistance, settler colonial regimes will be dismantled and apartheid walls will fall. My images are a declaration of existence, and a message that the steadfastness of the resistance is here to stay.