Our Hidden Room - Mohamed Hassan

Festival Exhibition

Location: @20, (20 station Road, LL29 8BU)

Open: 7th October - 31st October.

Mohamed Hassan, originally from Alexandria in Egypt, has been living and working in Pembrokeshire, in west Wales in the UK since 2007.

Living and studying in Wales has been pivotal to his journey as an artist as he becomes more connected to the people, communities and land of Wales. As a result of these experiences he is devoted to continue his journey as a Welsh artist, graduating with a 1st class honours degree in Photography from Carmarthen School of Art in 2016.

Our Hidden Room.

As an artist with dual nationality, Mohamed’s project explores his identity as part of an ever expanding diasporic community based in Wales.  He draws inspiration from the memory of his complex yet loving relationship with his father. Mohamed reflects on his father’s own personal struggle with bi-polar disorder, made clear to him by his erratic, reclusive, behaviour and his obsession with the small dark room, hidden within his family home.

Through his lens, Mohamed seeks to explore the complexity of the human experience and the legacy of a traumatic and uncertain childhood, of living within a fragile environment and the desire to escape memories. His personal conflict about belonging is represented through the people he meets and the lands that he explores, both in Egypt and Wales.

The constant feeling of displacement and questions of identity are forever present.

When Mohamed first arrived here he felt as if he was in a dream, and as he discovered and explored more of Wales found inspiration in the rugged landscapes around him. As a newcomer to Wales he has also become captivated with its rich and artistic culture and language, steeped in ancient folklore and song – and has a continuing fascination in documenting his direct experience of people and the land.

Mohamed has been shortlisted for several awards and competitions and his work has been exhibited at the prestigious Mission Gallery, the Waterfront National Museum in Wales the Trajectory Showcase Competition Exhibition in Shoreditch, London, Nova Cymru 2018, and a portrait was included in the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait exhibition 2018 at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

More recently Mohamed has exhibited 4 images in ‘Facing Britain’, curated by Ralph Goertz at Kunsthalle Darmstadt Museum Goch - touring to Koslar and Krakow in 2022. In Wales, the ‘Many Voices, One Nation 2’ exhibition supported by the Senedd and exhibiting at Ffotogallery included 11 of his images and he has also had 5 images included in the Oriel Davies ‘Responding to Rembrandt’ exhibition.

All festival exhibitions are FREE to visit.

www.mohamedhassanphotography.com