Tsawwar… Houssem Boulifa
“This photograph was shot on film one December afternoon in the heart of Algiers. In a historic square, surrounded by old colonial buildings and facing the bay, two children run through a swirl of birds taking flight, carried by a feeling of freedom and light-heartedness. In this rush of footsteps and wings, a soft nostalgia lingers — the kind born from simple moments that become memories without our noticing. Light and spontaneous, the scene seems to pause for a heartbeat, revealing a quiet timelessness where the present already feels like a memory.”
Houssem Boulifa is an Algerian photographer based in Paris. His work is driven by the desire to capture simple moments of life and allow them to transcend time. He creates images with a timeless quality—photographs that evoke memories or emotions, no matter who is looking at them. His photographic approach is deeply influenced by his roots and his faith. He also seeks to build bridges between the different places where he photographs—a creative approach he calls “Vision Monde,” a way of connecting cultures, identities, and emotions through imagery.
Tsawwar is an ongoing visual series in Daftar which explores the stories behind a photograph, taken in the region or by an Arab photographer, written in their own words.
