Poignant portraits of Palestine’s young skateboarders

English photographer Greg C. Holland was at a skatepark when he first made the decision to travel to Palestine. “A few friends of mine were re-building a DIY community skatepark in London called Hackney Bumps,” he says. One afternoon almost three years ago, Holland was taking photos at the build site when he was introduced to a few skaters involved with Skatepal, a UK-based organisation supporting young people in Palestine through skateboarding. “We were discussing summer plans when one of them mentioned that he would be travelling to Palestine to help build a community skatepark. The words had barely left his mouth before I began to ask for the sign-up sheet. I knew I had to go too.”

Thinking back, Holland could have never imagined the impact that this spontaneous interaction would have on his life – connecting him to a land, a people, and a cause that he remains deeply indebted to. “The local skaters in Palestine have become family,” he says. “They graciously opened my eyes to an intellectual and emotional expression of humanity that I had never thought possible.” 

It is this depth of feeling that has continued to draw Holland back to the West Bank and its local skate scene. Since his initial trip in 2022, he has travelled back there three more times, documenting his observations of Palestinian resilience in the face of cultural and bodily erasure. It is, in fact, Holland’s close relationship with members of the local skateboarding community that has enabled him to approach the Palestinian culture through a level of depth typically overlooked by other documentary photographers. Rather than focusing on the violent or mundane realities of life under occupation, his photos offer a philosophical look into the cultural and metaphysical forces connecting the Palestinian people to their beloved homeland. This November, a few of these breathtaking photographs will be showcased at Resistance – Art for a Free Palestine, a group exhibition hosted at Limbo Gallery in Margate, UK.

“I had initially intended to take portraits,” says Holland. “I wanted to celebrate the beautiful people that I had met in Palestine. Yet, I found myself more drawn to the land and its continued bounty, despite the constraints imposed by settlers.” This juxtaposition of freedom against radical forms of oppression is clearly depicted in Holland’s photographs. One of them, for instance, showcases yellow flowers blooming directly in front of the apartheid wall. This image symbolises the resilience of the Palestinian people, who continue to blossom and build on the land despite decades of physical and psychological persecution. 

His images have also depicted Palestinian resistance through his portraits of the country’s youth culture and a shared connection to skateboarding. One of Holland’s most profound photographs captures a young man praying in front of a tall concrete wall – his skateboard sitting directly beside him. This image perfectly encapsulates the crux of Holland’s guiding principle as an image-maker. Both prayer and skateboarding are mediums connecting Palestinian youth to the world around them. “When you are on a skateboard or in the midst of prostration, you have to be very mindful,” says Holland. “You have to know where your feet are and where your body weight is… For a moment, you are completely centred. This level of consciousness, I believe, enables youth to develop a profound appreciation for humanity, one that encourages them to engage with their environment rather than falling victim to it.” 

Holland reveals that, before travelling to Palestine, he had never seen a people treat their land with so much dignity and respect. “While bombs and bulldozers have, for decades, been used to destroy the Palestinian environment, the local people are doing everything in their power to protect it – oftentimes, by simply creating life.” Photographing the Palestinian people as they plant trees and build skateparks, he documents these acts of care. “80 per cent of Palestine’s olive trees are older than the occupation,” says Holland. “They have seen so much violence and destruction. Yet, their roots remain intact… This is much like the Palestinian people themselves. No matter the condition, their connection to the land can never be erased.” 

Holland’s photographs will be on view at Resistance – Art for a Free Palestine, a group exhibitionat Limbo Gallery (Margate, UK) from November 3 – 10, 2024. Proceeds fundraised through the exhibition will be donated to The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children’s Fund and the Ajyal Foundation for Education.