There are encounters born out of necessity, from the urgency to tell what risks being forgotten. Between Gaza and Naples. A Childhood Story was born this way, from the union of two free, distant voices: that of Mahmoud Abu Al-Qaraya, a 29-year-old photographer from Gaza, and that of Raffaele Annunziata, a Neapolitan artist and photographer known as tylerdurdan*.
“I discovered Mahmoud by looking at his photos on Instagram which, as a photographer, struck me immediately. Candid shots, war-reportage images, jaw-dropping color grading, perfect framing. I reached out to congratulate him,” Annunziata says. It was a meeting born online, while Raffaele was already carrying out numerous direct-support actions for the Palestinian people with the tylerdurdan* project, collaborating with Dr. Mohammed Moheen on the A dress for Gaza campaign and producing most of its videos. “When I spoke with Mahmoud we began to get to know each other and then, during a few video calls, we had the idea to create a photographic project together.”
Mahmoud has seen his life and career shattered under the blows of war: his family displaced four times, the loss of his camera—the only work tool—and a daily reality made of hunger, illness, and bombardments. Raffaele, on the other hand, has for over ten years interwoven music, images, and words as a form of cultural resistance, to call out injustices and bring back to the center what makes us human.
Together they chose to narrate, through parallel images, the everyday life of two little girls: one in Naples and the other in Gaza. “Mahmoud and I agreed that he would first photograph his niece Soso during everyday gestures, and that I would later take mine of my daughter Dede. His shots struck me for their delicacy and precision. We wanted to tell a ‘war story’ without bloodshed—a story to share with everyone, with anyone who has a heart.”
The contrast is stark: simple gestures elsewhere—like playing, going to school, or having breakfast—become almost impossible in a territory under siege. “From Mahmoud’s point of view, the difficulty was objective. Going out to take photos in Gaza a week ago was not easy. Today Mahmoud is among the many missing; a few days ago he was forced to leave his home. Taking my photos, from my perspective, was a walk in the park. The best subjects were Soso, in her pure yet troubled childhood, and Dede, magical in waking up and striking a pose.”
Between Gaza and Naples. A Childhood Story is an act of testimony—a narrative and ethical bridge that unites two worlds and defends a universal right: childhood. “I hope that those who look at our photos will think for a moment about children’s rights. That they reflect on what we Westerners consider trivialities, like a mirror to look into while brushing our teeth, the shoes we wear, the bed we lie down in at night. On our freedoms and on those who do not have them. On the excesses of consumerism and the privations of living through a genocide. But it would be enough if whoever looks at our photos made a donation to Mahmoud and offered a prayer for a free Palestine.”
Supporting the project is also the campaign Mahmoud Loves Photography, Family & Life ❤, a concrete appeal to help Mahmoud and his family rebuild their lives and restore his ability to keep photographing.
Ú
