LAURA EL-TANTAWY

I'll Die For You | *ongoing*

(2008-current) 

I’ll Die For You is a visual meditation on the bond between man and land. Choosing small farmers as my focus, I explore farming as a diminishing way of life — a consequence of persistent climatic variations, harsh physical & economic demands, its singular nature & a disposition towards urban living.  

With underlined themes around identity, belonging, survival, love & ultimately beginnings & endings, I’ll Die For You meditates on a way of life where the fate of man & land is intertwined as one.  

My paternal grandfather — Hussein, is my inspiration for this series. A farmer in Egypt’s Nile Delta, his devotion to his land eventually annihilated him. I see him in the farmers I photograph. 

To view the complete series, visit
www.ill-die-for-you.com 

  • Chandrabhan Zitheu Chaturkar, 70, hung himself in his house on May 2, 2010. He owed 16,000 Indian rupees (US$230).
  • Trees in reflection.
  • Farmer's skin.
  • Ranjana Manoj Chaudhury, 31, became a widow in 2004. Her husband, Manoj Prahladroa Chaudhury, 38, consumed pesticide and died on the very farm he was trying to cultivate on December 24, 2004. “He kept saying I won’t be here for long as I am under a lot of tension, but he never specified anything.” Two or three years before he took his life, Manoj had taken out two loans to put money into the family’s six-acre land. The loans, from both private lenders and banks, amounted to 130,000 Indian Rupees (US$1,860).
  • Fayek Mohamed Mahmoud Anabousey, 77, lost access to his West Bank land over a period of several months when Israeli military used it as a training grounds without his consent.
  • Krunal Motiram Wasake, 28, threw himself down a well outside his family's house on December 30, 2009. He owed 8,000 Indian rupees (US$114).
  • Fayek Mohamed Mahmoud Anabousey, 77, says his soil has suffered irreparable damage from extensive Israeli military and tank presence using his land as grounds for conducting their training.
  • Farmer's hand.
  • Prabha Narayan Atram went to sleep on March 24, 2011 exhausted after a long day's work in the field. Next to her slept her husband, 45-year-old Narayan. But little did she know that he would wake up in the middle of the night and throw himself down a well. On March 25, 2011 Prabha woke up to find her life had changed forever. The family owes 25,000 Indian rupees (US$358).
  • The River Nile glistening in the sun.
  • {quote}He was so handsome,{quote} said Baby Devraoji Satone, 52, of her son Kiran, 28, who committed suicide on January 18, 2007. {quote}I am angry and I feel very upset because he took care of all of us in the house.{quote} The family owns a 1.5-acre piece of land where they farm cotton and soya beans. Persistent crop failure due to drought means there is no money to repay an 80,000 loan (US$1,144) borrowed by Kiran.
  • Bassam Ali Radwan Foqha, 47, a Palestinian farmer who lost his land to the Israeli Occupation. Palestinian farmers who lost their land to the occupation are either unemployed, work multiple low paying jobs or work as labourers on land owned by Israeli settlers.
  • Farmer's neck.
  • In late 2010, 25-year-old Vaishali Kishor Hood's husband committed suicide due to a loan he could not afford to repay. {quote}I am surprised,{quote} she said. {quote}We had no arguments with each other and without giving any information, he just killed himself,{quote} she added. Her husband, Kishor Manohar Hood, 35, consumed pesticide and died on November 27, 2010.
  • Tree bark.
  • Thirty-four-year-old Praveen Shaligramji Bhumbhar set himself on fire when no one was at home. He died in hospital. Bhumbhar owed 80,000 Indian Rupees (US$1,144). He was married with three children.
  • The River Nile.
  • Farmer Mustafa Foqha, 64. Palestinian farmers who lost their land to the Israeli Occupation feel an overwhelming loss of identity.
  • Fire.
  • Farmer's hair.
  • *NEWS*
  • In the Shadow of the Pyramids
  • Beyond Here Is Nothing
  • A Star in the Sea
  • I'll Die For You | *ongoing*
  • The Veil
  • Books (buy.sample.read)
    • In the Shadow of the Pyramids | 2015
      • Flip Through
      • Spreads
      • Reviews
        • Gerry Badger, 1000 Words
        • Colin Pantall, Photo Eye
        • Loring Knoblauch, Collector Daily
        • Rahaab Allana, Aperture The Photobook Review
        • Fotografia Magazine
        • Josef Chladek Book Shelf
        • Photomonitor
        • Sue Steward, Hatje Kantz
        • Time Lightbox
        • Vrij Nederland
        • L'Oeil de la Photographie
        • TripleW
    • The People - Street Edition | 2015
      • Flip Through
      • Order
      • Spreads
      • Reviews
        • Colin Pantall
        • Josef Chladek Book Shelf
        • L'Oeil de la Photographie
        • Sue Steward, Hatje Kantz
    • The People - Collectible Edition | 2015
    • Post-Script | 2016
      • Spreads
    • Beyond Here Is Nothing | 2017
      • Flip Through
      • Spreads
      • Reviews
        • Collector Daily
        • 1000 Words
        • L'Oeil de la Photographie
        • PHmuseum
        • Josef Chladek Book Shelf
        • Candid Magazine
        • Photomonitor
    • A Star in the Sea | 2019
      • Flip Through
      • Spreads
      • Reviews
        • Robert Dunn, PhotoBook Store Part 1
        • Robert Dunn, PhotoBook Store Part 2
    • A Star in the Sea - Box Set | 2019
      • Preview
  • Writing
    • Review: Guillaume Simoneau "Murder"
    • Review: Federico Clavarino "Hereafter"
    • Review: Carolle Benitah "Photos-Souvenirs"
    • Review: Valentina Abenavoli "Anaesthesia"
    • Review: Amak Mahmoodian "Shenasnameh"
    • Time Lightbox: The Night Mubarak Stepped Down
    • Review: Cyril Costilhes "Grand Circle Diego"
    • National Geographic: Portraits of Strength
  • Video
    • In The Shadow of the Pyramids
    • Beyond Here Is Nothing
    • A Conversation with Zahra
  • Exhibition Views
    • Nuit Blanche Brussels 2018
    • Breda Photo 2018
    • Prix Roger Pic 2018
    • Gulf Photo Plus 2018
    • Art Heritage Gallery 2017
    • SeenFifteen 2017
    • The Cube 2016
    • LCC Very Now 2016
    • The Photographer's Gallery 2016
    • Gulf Photo Plus 2015
    • FotoIstanbul 2014
    • BlueCoat 2013
  • Editorial Commissions
    • Afar
    • The New Yorker
    • Uncommon Guide Books
    • Thailand, 9 Days
  • Corporate Commissions
    • Istituto Italiano di Cultura - Paris, France
    • Novartis - Basel, Switzerland
    • Actes Sud Publishing House - Arles, France
    • Maison Européenne de la Photographie - Paris, France
    • Teatro La Fenice - Venice, Italy
    • Accor Hotels - Paris, France
  • Workshops
  • Bio & Contact
  • CV

All Images copyright © Laura El-Tantawy 2019. Site design © 2010-2019 Neon Sky Creative Media