In a world defined by distinctions in race, ethnicity, class, gender and nationality, the human gaze can restore a sense of shared humanity. The ordinary people whose images are found in this book speak with their eyes, gently reminding us of our common connections. Chosen from a collection of more than 60,000 photographs taken over 45 years in nearly 50 countries, they assert what binds us together while honoring individual experience.
Rather than regarding his photographs as art, Ghassan views himself as a documentarist, interested in people, their lives and their social settings. While many of his images take the form of portraits, he also specializes in what he calls life scenes – personal encounters on park benches, in busy marketplaces and on neighborhood streets.
Thinking about his collection in larger perspective, he considers it to be a personal diary. While many of his early journalistic photographs documented the movements of the powerful and famous, his later work records ordinary encounters and moments in life.