Identity & Belonging with Mohamed Hassan
Name, age, where are you from, what format you like using, what are you currently working on if you are?
My name is Mohamed Hassan, 41yeaes old, I’m originally from Egypt and now based in Wales. I work across both digital and analogue formats, depending on the story I want to tell film often gives me a sense of intimacy and timelessness, while digital allows for immediacy and experimentation. At the moment, I’m working on a project about identity and belonging, exploring how personal histories and community narratives overlap.
What about your surroundings/environments and upbringing interested you?
Growing up, I was always aware of the power of place how landscapes, neighbourhoods, and even small domestic spaces carry stories. My upbringing taught me to notice contrasts: between movement and settlement, between memory and present life. Living between cultures has made me sensitive to environments where people negotiate identity, and that continues to inspire the way I use photography.
When was the first time you met photography? How did you feel when you met it?
Photography has surrounded me all my life. My father was a professional photographer, so cameras were always present in our home. I recently published a book about his story a deeply personal and traumatic journey that reflects his struggle with mental illness, and how that experience shaped my own path into becoming a photographer.
https://editorialrm.com/en/producto/nuestra-secreta-habitacion/
https://phmuseum.com/news/photobook-review-our-hidden-room-by-mohamed-hassan
Tell us about current projects you have been working on. Is this story inspired out of personal reasons, or others? What are you most excited about in these projects?
My current work is rooted in themes of identity, migration, and belonging. Part of it comes from personal experience, but also from the stories of others who navigate similar questions of home and displacement. I’m excited by the way these projects create conversations between me, my subjects, and the wider community. What excites me most is that the work isn’t just about representation it’s about connection and dialogue.
How did you find your visual literacy? Why are you attracted to certain images more than others?
I found my visual literacy by looking at both photography and other art forms painting, cinema, archives. Over time, I noticed I was drawn to images that carry silence, memory, and traces of absence. I’m attracted to photographs that leave space for the viewer to imagine, rather than giving everything away. That tension between what is seen and unseen is what shapes my way of seeing.
Imagine meeting someone who is picking up a camera for the first time. What do you tell them?
I would tell them to be patient, and to focus less on technical perfection and more on curiosity. Photography is not only about what you see but also about how you choose to look. Pay attention to light, to people, to details, and most importantly use the camera to ask questions, not just to give answers.
