Light Work will present “Mater si, magistra no,” a solo exhibition by Nabil Harb, through April 25 in the Kathleen O. Ellis Gallery, 316 Waverly Ave. in Syracuse. An opening reception will take place in on Thursday, Jan. 23, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the gallery.

Lake Hancock, Nabil Harb, 2024

“Mater si, magistra no,” (a macaronic phrase that translates as “Mother yes, teacher no”) presents a series of black-and-white photographs that describe and depict moments and scenes within Harb’s hometown of Lakeland in Polk County, Florida. This Central Florida location is both the backdrop and main character of Harb’s visual narrative: a story that emits surreal qualities which twist ideas of the region through photography’s formal language into a conceptual idea—an idea of how to describe the atmosphere of a place without words.

“The landscape is the perfect reflection of our society, our ultimate index—it holds our histories, our secrets, our failures and our hopes for the future,” Harb says.

Harb uses his camera to look rather than gaze at wily scenes and moving bodies; his images disturb the before and after of a photograph by showing a moment extended or an instant flashed with a strobe. The narratives in this work are conflicting and intermingle with one another. The overriding story is one of man versus nature, of beauty and destruction coexisting in an atmosphere that is surreal, seductive and breathtaking. Where the conflicting notions of destruction and rebirth intersect is also the point at which Harb’s formalism and conceptual photographic practice meet, showing us the potential for beauty in destruction and foreboding rebirth.

Harb is a Palestinian American photographer born and raised in Polk County, Florida, where he still lives. Harb received his in  bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of South Florida and his master of fine arts degree in photography from Yale University. His work has been featured in Aperture, The Atlantic, ArtReview, The Guardian and A24.

2025 B.F.A. Art Photography Annual

Light Work is also presenting the 2025 B.F.A. Art Photography Annual. This exhibition features work
by seniors from the Art Photography program in the Film and Media Arts Department at the
College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. The exhibiting artists are Maxine
Brackbill, Charles Lavion, Kelsey Quinn Leary, Lili Moreno Martel, Shawn McCauley and Hazel
Wagner.

Each spring, seniors in the art photography program have the opportunity to exhibit a selection
of images from their senior thesis projects at Light Work. The senior thesis is a yearlong,
in-depth photographic exploration of a subject chosen by each student. The subjects of these
projects are wide-ranging, from very personal explorations of family and selfhood to sharp and
humorous experiments playing with the boundaries of fashion and studio photography. Students
choose, edit and print the images in collaboration and with the assistance of Light Work’s
curatorial staff and master printers.

“The B.F.A. Art Photography Annual is not only the first exhibition for many of the students in the Art Photography program, but also an important learning opportunity for them,” says Laura Heyman, associate professor of art photography. “In addition to giving students the space to imagine how the
images they create might exist beyond the walls of the university, the Art Photography Annual
introduces their work to their peers, the local community, and the renowned curators and critics.”
who jury the exhibition.”

Bruno Ceschel, founder of Self Publish Be Happy,  served as juror and selected Brackbill’s images for Best in Show.

“Maxine Brackbill’s photographs address identity through lenses of gender, race and familial contexts, presenting biographies that are deeply personal yet universally relevant. These narratives emerge at a time when there is a growing visibility for diverse perspectives, but also an environment that feels increasingly hostile,” says Ceschel. “One particularly striking image of Maxine standing in water, confronting the viewer with a gaze that asserts her new body and new life, feels both vulnerable and defiant.”

An opening reception will take place in the Jeffrey J. Hoone Gallery at Light Work on Jan. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m.