Tsawwar… Hassan Kamil

Returning to the old house

Hassan Kamil, Berber July 2021

“Behind these small doors and mud walls, feelings of love and intimacy flourished for decades. The sky is wide and extended, and your hand may stumble upon a passing cloud if you raise it. Laughter is present with every tea session. There is an endless world of stories and angelic characters that do not skimp on tenderness. 'Returning to the Old House' is the title of a poem written by Muhammad al-Hasan Salem Hommid. I flee to it when my language betrays me in describing the warmth accompanying me while I'm among my family in the city of Berber. In the poem, he describes the spaciousness of homes and the way of life in most Sudanese societies far from the capital, Khartoum.”

Tsawwar is an ongoing visual series in Daftar that explores the stories behind a photograph, taken in the region or by an Arab photographer, written in their own words. Hassan Kamil is a Sudanese photographer, filmmaker, and storyteller whose work explores various cultural and historical themes. Check out his work @hasnkamil