Emirati Family Photographs 1950–1999
Lest We Forget: Emirati Family Photographs 1950-1999 is the first compilation of Emirati vernacular photographs to be published. It comprises a genuine collection of Emirati family photographs and oral histories, offered by the first generations of Emirati citizens and responded to by their descendants. The book reflects Emirati perspectives on the complexity of individual and national identity during the tribal federation’s swift transformation into a modern nation over the course of the late twentieth century.
The analog photographs and their stories reveal daily life and special occasions in the Emirates from the 1950s, when people could first afford cameras, until the late 1990s, when digital photography became widespread. Unlike the majority of published photographs taken in the Emirates during this period—mostly by non-Emirati medical missionaries, oil explorers, journalists, diplomats, professional photographers and travelers—these personal, often spontaneous snapshots were taken by ordinary citizens.
The photographs in this book were not taken on assignment. They were not intended to document, persuade or represent. They were not official, bound by protocol or subject to censorship. Emirati people took these photographs for their own purposes and chose the subjects for their own reasons. There is a delightful freedom and candor to the photographs, which are surprisingly experimental. Many capture incidental and idiosyncratic aspects of everyday life, while others show important occasions. Several have an element of humor and delight. The intended audience—almost always family members and close friends—was familiar with the individuals, places or events shown. Whether they capture candid moments for immediate viewing or formal poses for posterity, all of these photographs are intrinsically valuable to the families to whom they belong.
Lest We Forget: Emirati Family Photographs 1950-1999 is designed as an artists’ book. A unique feature of the book is the use of artistic language to articulate collective memories and reflections upon the nation’s past. Each snapshot and story preserves a unique personal memory while forming part of a collective narrative.
Under the direction of Dr. Michele Bambling, with advice from photographer Susan Meiselas, over one hundred Emirati female women collaboratively authored the book. The research started in 2010, through a series of curatorial practices courses taught by Dr. Michele Bambling on the women’s campus of Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. Over the course of five years, Zayed University students, interns and volunteers gathered, researched, reproduced and sequenced family photographs. They also typed or scripted oral histories, translated the stories into English and Arabic, edited the manuscript, and designed the book structure, page layout, interventions and cover.
A family photo album belonging to the late Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, labeled ‘Lest We Forget,’ contains the first photographs contributed to the book and inspired its title. The collection of photographs in the book form the foundation of the Lest We Forget Archive.
