MPP CatalogIt Item Details
"At Work from the Wheelchair" (circa 1995)
Photograph
This framed and signed montage of Lily Bandak's photography in Jordan bears her signature and a stamp on the reverse, indicating that she personally mounted and assembled the frame. Her careful selection and arrangement of these photographs reflect both her pride in her work and her determination to achieve the right composition.
Lily's perspective was informed by photographing the world from her wheelchair, offering a distinctive eye-level view of the people, traditional dress, and landscapes she documented. These rare photographs provide a glimpse of Bandak at work and reveal the behind-the-scenes community that made it possible for her to reach historically inaccessible places, including Petra, despite the significant barriers.
The photograph in the upper right was likely taken in 1995, after Queen Noor of Jordan provided Bandak with a portable wheelchair ramp and a custom-fitted military transport vehicle, enabling her to access historic sites throughout Jordan in pursuit of her photography. Queen Noor's support followed an earlier meeting with Bandak at the White House, where she was deeply moved by Bandak's work and later invited her to teach at a newly established university in Jordan.
Authored by Wafa Ghnaim
2024.06.03
Permanent Collection
Wafa Ghnaim
Photographs
Photographer Once Known
Lily Bandak
Photographer
circa 1995
Jordan (الأردن)
Asia
Makers Mark
Bottom right corner
Signature of Lily Bandak
Delaware
United States of America
North America
type: travel date: 1995-2010 certainty: precise notes: Lily had a darkroom in her home in Delaware, and this photograph was likely printed at that time.
Washington, DC
District of Columbia
United States of America
North America
type: travel date: 2024 certainty: precise notes: The photograph was donated to the Museum of the Palestinian People.
Gift of the Bandak family
This is an authentic reproduction, mounted and signed by Lily Bandak.