Resistance

The following is a submission to our open call for art related to the UCLA encampment and the Palestinian crisis.

My name is Damjan Nastic and I am a senior at UCLA majoring in Math/Economics. I also love capturing and sharing stories through photography.

“Resistance” is a collection of photos I took throughout the life of the UCLA pro-Palestine encampment. My goal initially was to capture portraits of students on the ground protesting, to humanize them and hopefully show a perspective not often seen on the news. To me, it was important to capture the little things, such as students working on their laptops outside beside their tents or handing out supplies to one another. These moments symbolized the inspiring unity and sacrifice of the protests themselves.

I remember hearing the multiple fireworks from my apartment when the violence erupted. I hastily packed all my gear and sprinted to campus around midnight where I eventually witnessed the violence unfold firsthand. From the initial outbreak of violence to the police clearing of the encampment, I made it my mission to capture the history and terror of those nights so that we never forget the bravery, solidarity, and resistance students demonstrated that night.

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