Normalcy

Normalcy People often use the word “normal” in a way that reflects a belief that there is a universally accepted perspective or standard that supports their view. And yet, what is “normal” varies widely and is constantly changing in relation to almost everything, even for the same person. What is considered “normal” is defined by individual and collective circumstances, ideologies, perspectives, choices, ability to control existing conditions, context, and knowledge of what else is out there. Normalcy is a concept that I constantly struggle with in my work with people who are displaced from their homes due to conflict. One day they are living a life of mundane troubles of unpaid bills and grocery shopping, and the next day they are forced to flee thousands of miles with the clothes on their back as their only possessions. When I meet such people and hear their stories my worldview of what is normal is disrupted by the sheer force of the suffering that surrounds them and the grit they exhibit to strive for normalcy. They remind me that one of the constant human struggles is to achieve and maintain a sense of “normalcy”. In this series I travelled all over Iraqi Kurdistan to photograph people who were once living a “normal” life in Iraq and Syria and were forced to leave it all behind due to the conflict with ISIS. Now displaced in the Kurdistan region of Iraq they strive to introduce small elements of normalcy into their lives. With hopes of returning to their homes, or being relocated to another country and once again having a “normal” life, they carry on living in camps on borders or secluded zones far away from everything and everyone else. For many of the people I photographed, as weeks have turned into months, and months into years, their life in these camps has become the new “normal”. In my conversations with them they frequently used the word “normal” when describing various aspects of their lives, which are far from any idea of a normal life for me. In photographing them and documenting their struggle with normalcy, it is my intention to give the viewer pause next time they use the word normal, define normalcy, or take it for granted.