In Photos: Exploring Humanity and the North African Identity

North Africa is a region that stretches across many different cultures and identities, making it an intriguing place to capture through camera.

Zied Ben Romdhane is a Tunisia-based documentary photographer and a photojournalist, whose work has been featured in The New York Times and The Washington Post.

His photography documents untold stories and explores the connection between humanity and nature, as well as the various struggles that local communities face. Some of his exhibitions include Views of Tunisia (Arles 2013), After the Revolution (White Box, NY 2013), and Zones d’Attente (Clark House, Bombay 2013), kushti (Maison de la Tunisie, Paris 2013), and Afrotopia African biennale of photography (Bamako , Mali 2017), and the Biennale of the photographs of the contemporary Arab world (France , Paris 2017).

Romdhane published his first book ‘West of Life’ in 2018 with Red Hook Editions, and previously directed the film, Photography of Fallega (2011), which is a documentary film about the Arab Spring in Tunisia.

 

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Tunisia.Nouail.4/7/2019 Abdelhafidh, his son and gradson standing in front of their house, covered by sand..”The development of the dehydrated zone of Tunisia’s south has always been one of the government’s major concerns since the independence of the country. The Tunisian government offers land, housing and agricultural advantages to incite nomads to settle in this territory. However, despite the socio-economic efforts of local government to fight against this natural disaster, it is still difficult for people to live in the region.” #magnumphoto #worldpressphoto #photography #documentary #blackandwhite #art #fineartphotography #fineart #ziedbenromdhane #environnement #polution #chemical #adpp #redhookedition #montreal #canada #tunis #tunisia #gabes #paris #NY #france

A post shared by zied ben romdhane (@ziedbromdhane) on Feb 25, 2020 at 7:29am PST

 

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Kids playing with pigeons,Es Sabria,Tunisia “The development of the dehydrated zone of Tunisia’s south has always been one of the government’s major concerns since the independence of the country. The Tunisian government offers land, housing and agricultural advantages to incite nomads to settle in this territory. However, despite the socio-economic efforts of local government to fight against this natural disaster, it is still difficult for people to live in the region.”

A post shared by zied ben romdhane (@ziedbromdhane) on Nov 8, 2019 at 8:10am PST

 

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The grandson of Saad, the old night, playing with cardboard armor, Mdhilla “In Gafsa, a phosphate mining region in the southwest of Tunisia, a state-controlled company called CPG extracts phosphates from the hills.The local mining villages of Al-Rudayyif, Al-Mitlawi and Umm Al Arais, are rich in resources but marginalized by the government. They remain poor and polluted, conduits for wealth. Meanwhile, coastal towns prosper.” #magnumphoto #worldpressphoto #photography #documentary #blackandwhite #art #fineartphotography #fineart #ziedbenromdhane #environnement #polution #chemical #adpp #redhookedition #montreal #canada #tunis #tunisia #gabes #paris #NY #france

A post shared by zied ben romdhane (@ziedbromdhane) on Oct 21, 2019 at 4:33am PDT

 

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Zeyda, Al-Mitlawi..In Gafsa a phosphate mining region in the southwest of Tunisia, a state-controlled company called CPG extracts phosphate from the hills. It accounts for nearly 4 percent of the GDP. The local mining villages of Redayef, Mettlaoui, Oumm Laarayes, are rich in resources but marginalized by the government. They remain poor and polluted, a conduit for wealth. Meanwhile, coastal towns prosper. #tunisia #magnumfoundation #magnumphotos #wpp #worldpressphoto #gafsa #blackandwhite #mining #phophate i #documentary #blackandwhite #quebec #montreal #tunisia #paris #london #canada #photography #canon #dubai_Amara’s old radio and watch, Al-Mitlawi

A post shared by zied ben romdhane (@ziedbromdhane) on Aug 27, 2019 at 9:11am PDT

 

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A girl, Al-Mitlawi , in Gafsa a phosphate mining region in the southwest of Tunisia, a state-controlled company called CPG extracts phosphate from the hills. It accounts for nearly 4 percent of the GDP. The local mining villages of Redayef, Mettlaoui, Oumm Laarayes, are rich in resources but marginalized by the government. They remain poor and polluted, a conduit for wealth. Meanwhile, coastal towns prosper. #tunisia #magnumfoundation #magnumphotos #wpp #worldpressphoto #gafsa #blackandwhite #mining #phophate i #documentary #blackandwhite #quebec #montreal #tunisia #paris #london #canada #photography #canon #dubai Fin de la discussion

A post shared by zied ben romdhane (@ziedbromdhane) on Jun 27, 2019 at 8:37am PDT

 

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A man calling for his donkey, Sagdoud , Gafsa.

A post shared by zied ben romdhane (@ziedbromdhane) on Sep 4, 2019 at 7:46am PDT

 

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The only part we can see from Abdelhafid’s house, the door from the outside., Nouail , Tunsia.”The development of the dehydrated zone of Tunisia’s south has always been one of the government’s major concerns since the independence of the country. The Tunisian government offers land, housing and agricultural advantages to incite nomads to settle in this territory. However, despite the socio-economic efforts of local government to fight against this natural disaster, it is still difficult for people to live in the region.” #magnumphoto #worldpressphoto #photography #documentary #blackandwhite #art #fineartphotography #fineart #ziedbenromdhane #environnement #polution #chemical #adpp #redhookedition #montreal #canada #tunis #tunisia #gabes #paris #NY #france

A post shared by zied ben romdhane (@ziedbromdhane) on Nov 25, 2019 at 8:45am PST