Ashoura
Ashoura, which marks the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, is an intense moment of collective mourning and recollection. In the streets of Baghdad and Sadr City, I witnessed a deeply embodied faith, where every gesture, every look, every sound vibration expresses communion with the divine.
Through my photographic project on Ashoura in Iraq, I chose to distance myself from the often sensationalist and controversial images associated with this commemoration. Although scarification rituals are visible, my intention was not to focus on the bloody aspect, but to capture the spiritual essence that transcends these practices.
More universally, this series questions our relationship with the divine, the spiritual and, in a way, the meaning we give to our lives. The reportage unveils practices that reveal what remains in the shadows, while raising fundamental questions about how we, as human beings, seek to express and touch the invisible.
My work seeks to reveal the interiority of these moments: here, it’s not the violence of the gesture that’s important, but the depth of a faith lived out in the flesh. A deep sense of community is felt, along with values of devotion and solidarity.
