New Page — MOATH ALOFI

Shepherds of Arabia, 2017

Whilst exploring the surroundings of Medina, Alofi met up with the shepherds whose practices continue one of the oldest traditions in Arabia. Though Alofi usually photographs scenes and places, he found himself photographing the shepherds up close, capturing their uniqueness. In their faces, Alofi could reflect on himself and ponder their endurance of such difficult circumstances. The harsh nature of their environments can be seen in their rugged features, harsh hands, and deep wise eyes, Alofi observes. The sharp contradiction between their pleasant isolation, versus our modern era of hyper-sharing, is no less than striking. In his process, Alofi ensured to speak with them intensively. “Talking to them was joyful,” he notes, “as you feel their eagerness to interact and be acknowledged.”