A quiet cartography of everyday life in a remote village in the Sahara by London-based photographer Taha Al-izzi. Born in Amman to Kurdish-Iraqi parents who fled conflict and repression, Al-izzi’s early life was marked by movement (from Iraq to Jordan to Toronto). His work continues as an act of looking back toward echoes of identity within dislocation. That search led him to Khemliya, a small Gnawa community at the edge of the Sahara. Descendants of enslaved West African peoples brought across the Sahel, the project speaks to the spirit of survival—of being elsewhere and belonging nonetheless. Al-izzi’s images unfold as a meditation on exile, mapping out a shared terrain between the forced migrations of North Africa and the Kurdish diaspora. Through portraits, fragments, field notes and testimonies, Al-izzi seeks to unveil a broader sense of continuity and communion:
“During a two-week sound residency organized by Mathias Chaboteaux (Huveshta Rituals Records) and music producer Louis Shungu, an ephemeral recording studio was built inside a mud house to capture the voices and instruments of the village’s musicians. My aim was to translate their story through the lens, to portray a community whose music carries both memory and resilience. The resulting photographs form part of a broader multidisciplinary project: a 16mm short film, a photo book combining text and imagery, and a music album—all set to be exhibited across Europe alongside live performances. This work stands as a tribute to people living on the edge of desertification, whose ancestral knowledge continues to spread from older generations to the younger ones.”
Taha Al-izzi participated in our 2025 Booooooom Art & Photo Book Award and made our shortlist.
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