Not Ophelia.

I do not sink. I do not surrender.

Not Ophelia is a photography series by Dalia Jacobs that reimagines the relationship between water, mental health, and displacement. It challenges the historical depiction of women in water as symbols of fragility, reclaiming the space as one of quiet defiance and endurance.

Suspended between control and surrender, the subjects exist in a liminal space—neither drowning nor fully free. The interplay of floating objects, refracted light, and fluid motion mirrors the silent weight of grief, resilience, and survival. Each image carries an unspoken tension, an echo of displacement, where the body negotiates its place between past and present, struggle and surrender.

This is not a tragedy. This is not Ophelia.

"We know what we are, but know not what we may be." — Hamlet, Act IV, Scene V

This reflection on uncertainty and transformation speaks to the core of Not Ophelia—a visual narrative of resistance, identity, and the unseen battles carried beneath the surface.

Special thanks to Joud Othman, the inspiring subject of these images, and to Dar Souad, the evocative location that frames this journey.