Ben Terzza was born in 1989 in Nottingham, UK. After completing a BSc in Science and traveling Europe he has established himself with a focus in documentary photography. He is currently studying for a MA in Documentary Photography and Photojournalism at Westminster University, London. His work explores individuals, society and the landscapes around him; be it hypothetical references, iconography or personal relationships. Today we look at his series The Second Largest Suburb.
The Second Largest Suburb
The Second Largest Suburb represents the current state of Giza – the famous suburb of the Giza Plateau. Giza itself is steep in architectural history holding several impressive ancient monuments of the world, including the ancient Egyptian royal mortuary, the sacred structures of the Egyptians and the Great Sphinx, which attracts many worldwide visitors (Roughly 3 Million per year – Pre Revolution.) The dusty region is the second largest suburb in the world with roughly 6 Million people.
Having survived the overthrow of two governments, the oppressive regime of Hosni Mubarak was toppled in 2011 which led to a period of complete unknown within Egypt. Looting at the Giza sites became common with the majority of security personnel transferred to Cairo.
The summer of 2012 welcomed the Muslim Brotherhood into power with Muhammed Morsi acting as the first democratically elected president in Egypt’s history. Just over a year later he was ousted in a Coup d’état that saw one of the largest protest demonstrations in modern times with an estimated 14 million people taking to the streets. This project follows the cross over between tourism, population and conflict on this hugely important historical suburb.
To see more of Ben’s work, visit his website.