Dualities inspire Lebanon images

In one image, we see a burka-wearing woman listening to an iPod. In another, a veiled woman at Beirut’s American University stands in the foreground while two other women sit in the background wearing T-shirts and jeans. Or there are the four women who sit reading newspapers, three in Islamic garb and one in a designer outfit.

Women and children in the Middle East are the focus of Matar’s work. Some of her best pictures are of children. The innocence of the subject in “Girl and Rocket Hole’’ or “Barbie Girl’’ is painfully underscored by the rubble surrounding her. Both pictures date from 2006, when Israel invaded Lebanon.

Ten of the photographs show the aftermath of the invasion. Hung as a group, they’re further distinguished by being in color (Matar usually shoots in black and white). They’re 16 inches-by-24 inches. The rest of the images in the show are 24 inches-by-36 inches. We see personal items - a doll, a wedding album, crockery - found amid the war damage.

There’s a deadness to these images beyond the presumed intention of the photographer. That is, we see these personal possessions for the indictment they are of war - think of them as talismans of collateral damage - but they remain visually inert. We see the objects, yes, but fail to sense the persons behind them. And Matar is a photographer whose images work best when populated.

The most important duality in Matar’s work has to do with subject rather than approach. She’s a realist with a rich poetic streak. Sometimes that streak isn’t evident, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the subject matter. It’s a bad thing with those color images, for example. But when her poetic side is on display it’s invariably a very good thing.