Petra Basnakova
Born of sand and Sun
Year 1948, the beginning of Nakba. Palestinians are forced to leave their homes beyond exile. The same fate befell the desert nation of Bedouins, who however failed to break the strong bond with the heart of the culture that is part of them – the desert they have never left before. The number of Bedouin people inhabiting their original territories is shrinking and gradually losing their identity to be a Bedouin. Devoted to their country and willing to lay down his life to save another. Share with the last piece of bread or water. Born of sand and sun is a kind of visual metaphor for the gradual fulfillments of Ben Gurion’s dream of flourishing the desert, with which will forever evaporate the myths of a brave desert nation of Bedouins. All that is left for them are fragments covered with sand, which in time will turn to themselves.
About the Photographer
Petra Basnakova (b. 1997) is studying a masters degree in advertising photography at Tomas Bata university in Zlin, Czech Republic despite documentary and conceptual photography being closer to her heart. During the 2019-2020 winter semester she took part in a student exchange programme at Bezalel Academy of arts and design in Jerusalem. Here she shot her project Born of sand and Sun, a narrative for Bedouin people living in the Judean desert in the West Bank. Together with other exchange students she created an exhibition called Junction, at Maqam Nabi-Musa with the cooperation of the United Nations. In 2017 she participated in Slovak Press Photo and won second place in the portrait category.
