Love Across Divides: Haifa Exhibit Explores Human Geography of Conflict

A photography exhibition titled 'Love Zone' at Beit Al Karma Gallery in Haifa, Israel, explores how political divisions shape identity and relationships, and how human connections can transcend boundaries. The exhibition features a decade-long project by Dutch artists the artist and Anja van Lee, who are based in Amsterdam. Their work includes intimate portraits of couples whose relationships bridge social, ethnic, religious, and political divides in conflict or post-conflict societies.

The project began when the artist and van Lee visited Israel and Palestine for another assignment. They were struck by Jewish and Palestinian couples whose relationships defied the surrounding divisions. Their initial photographs, published in a major Dutch newspaper, elicited polarized reactions but also resonated with many readers who were surprised by such relationships, offering a view of individuals beyond their assigned political identities.

The artists do not claim that love can solve conflicts or erase historical injustices. Instead, they use the couples' experiences as a lens to examine conflict itself, revealing its multiple layers and complexities. The series has expanded to document couples in other conflict zones worldwide, including Northern Ireland, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, and North and South Korea.

Through black and white images, the exhibition challenges the simplistic 'us vs. them' perception of conflict, highlighting the countless shades of gray and the nuances of human experience. The artists also captured landscapes in these regions, using the land to question borders, colonialism, and competing claims of belonging. Composite landscape images further explore how political power and history shape our understanding of place and identity.

'Love Zone' does not offer easy solutions. The exhibition invites viewers to look beyond fixed identities and contemplate the multifaceted nature of human experience, the connections between people, and political conflict, revealing a reality that cannot be reduced to two opposing sides. The exhibition runs from September 17 to November 17, 2026, with support from the Dutch Embassy in Israel.