Caption

  "Nothing is happening in this picture. It almost does not deserve our attention. It is an off moment of something happening elsewhere.  But “there”, there really is nothing. Maybe just this weapon that hints at some grimmer reality than we could have initially suspected. Yet there is so much going in this picture. Three thresholds. One urban, one human, and one political.  It is set at the “door” of a city. Of a Libyan city, as the news has brought us to know by repeatedly showing similar portals in their coverage of the insurgency. A green portal, the favored color of Islam. The four characters in the back of the van could  pass for models for a cheap clothing store. The pose is there,  the attitude, and so is the age. They are just at that moment  when shaving becomes more frequent, and defining a persona,  a preeminent concern. But isn’t saying “teenage rebel” being  redundant? Now in this instance, “rebellion” has to be taken very literally. Perhaps they still have their rich kids’ outfits, but they’ll work on it soon. This suspended moment is set at a turning point  of a country’s history. A turning point no one knows how long it will last, nor where it will lead. All we know and they know is that those young adults are going to be active participants in what is  lying ahead.  Mari Bastashevki is a conflict photographer. But that is incidental.  She is just an intelligent photographer." Baptiste Lignel   "Nothing is happening in this picture. It almost does not deserve our attention. It is an off moment of something happening elsewhere.  But “there”, there really is nothing. Maybe just this weapon that hints at some grimmer reality than we could have initially suspected.   Yet there is so much going in this picture. Three thresholds. One urban, one human, and one political.  It is set at the “door” of a city. Of a Libyan city, as the news has brought us to know by repeatedly showing similar portals in their coverage of the insurgency. A green portal, the favored color of Islam. The four characters in the back of the van could pass for models for a cheap clothing store. The pose is there, the attitude, and so is the age. They are just at that moment when shaving becomes more frequent, and defining a persona, a preeminent concern. But isn’t saying “teenage rebel” being redundant? Now in this instance, “rebellion” has to be taken very literally. Perhaps they still have their rich kids’ outfits, but they’ll work on it soon. This suspended moment is set at a turning point of a country’s history. A turning point no one knows how long it will last, nor where it will lead. All we know and they know is that those young adults are going to be active participants in what is lying ahead.    Mari Bastashevki is a conflict photographer. But that is incidental.  She is just an intelligent photographer." Baptiste Lignel     See more of her work here: http://maribastashevski.com/