Baha Suleiman is a Palestinian/Jordanian documentary photographer based in Amman, Jordan. Suleiman is carrying out his second residency with BLVCK BLOCK. His work seeks to capture the stark similarities between the Palestinian diasporic experience and the black South African experience through the lens of forced dispossession. 

In his journey through South Africa, Suleiman explores the aftermath of democracy. His series ‘A Revolution Suspended’ explores themes essential to both South Africa and Jordan such as water, land, and the enduring question of belonging. Through his work, Suleiman investigates the importance of access to water and land in both countries, and how access to them transcends questions of fair wealth distribution, becoming a matter of identity.

Being the descendant of refugees exiled, Suleiman’s body of work is hugely impacted by the innate yearning for a homeland common to Palestinians living in the diaspora. Working in South Africa, his work has leaned heavily on this, and he has found that identity here is fuelled by a similar sentiment. Both histories share a commonality in that there is a clear entity responsible for this dispossession, an idea that lay at the heart of his series.

His choice of pursuing his studies in Cape Town is largely due to the artistic freedom South Africa affords him as a Palestinian. His academics are largely dependent on his artistic career and opportunities offered by Art Collectives such as BLVCK BLOCK.