Faulkner, S., 2012.

The most photographed wall in the world

The article addresses the photographic representation of the West Bank Wall, arguing that myriad photographs of the Wall produced for different purposes have established it as an international icon of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict/occupation. This establishment of the Wall as an icon is understood to be partly dependent upon its construction as an auratic object through photographs that emphasize its sheer materiality. Although such photographs are representations that ascribe meaning to the Wall, they seem to present its materiality its wall-ness as if it can speak for itself. In contrast to this implication that photographs can embody the materiality of the Wall, the article also considers its enmeshment with certain discourses that attempt to ground its meaning in use-values for the Israeli state, discourses that include acts performed to be photographed. Finally the article considers the effects upon understandings of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict/occupation produced by the construction and use of the Wall as a photographic icon. © 2012 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.