About the Project:
What We Hide Behind the Windows? Is a photo essay, through, which I tried to observe and explore the dynamic of moving on the rural roads (Between Sana'a and Amran) and how the people interact with the roads and their surroundings in the rural areas.
This photo essay is part of my long-term project "Letters From the Nowhere". Through this project, I aim to reconnect with my rural roots to explore the common things, the mutual relations between me and my village. As I came from a rural family in 1998 we relocated to Sana'a, and since then, we have become an urbanist family. I lost my rural background, I don't have any roots or features of rural people, furthermore, when am in my village they keep calling me the Sana'ani guy. I'm trying to show the distinctiveness of rural society, and the people’s connection to the land, the animals, and with each other.
I shot all the photos using my phone and from behind the windows for two main reasons; 1) I use them as protection due to the restrictions against photography and camera use in Yemen. 2) I treat the windows as the borders and limitations between me and my rural roots, despite its transparency, it exist. 3) As if I'm a third eye that looks behind a glass barrier, what I ultimately saw as the barrier between urban life and its complexities.
About the Photographer:
Sadiq Al-Harasi is a Yemeni cultural practitioner and emerging artist. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Sana'a University. Sadiq granted the Arab Documentary Photography Program funded by AFAC, Prince Claus, and Magnum Foundation. Through his artworks and experiences, he delves into themes of identity, loss, memory, and belonging. Particularly drawn to the expressive power of the human form, he utilizes it as a tool for exploration and reflection. With a focus on exploring the intricate connections between culture, identity, and the dynamic interactions between individuals and their environments. Sadiq strives to construct a fresh narrative surrounding Yemen's cohesion, identity, and culture in a contemporary context. His works have been exhibited locally and internationally.
