Marlena Waldthausen MOHAMAD

When Amsterdam-based Marlena Waldthausen first traveled to Austria to photograph Mohamad, an 8-year-old boy with cutis laxa, a rare genetic skin disorder that makes him look like an old man, she didn’t quite know what to expect. Mohamad and his family are refugees from Syria who lived in Iraq and Turkey before finding asylum in Austria. They spoke only Arabic and Kurdish. It had taken months for Waldthausen to make contact with Mohamad’s parents after seeing a viral video about him online, and even longer to gain their trust.

In the end, however, Mohamad opened up to her, adding personal meaning and depth to her photo story. Despite outward appearances, he is just an ordinary boy, Waldthausen says. “He has been through a lot and has a challenging personality, but I just stayed when he was having his moments and didn’t say anything.” She knew she had made a connection when, she says, “at some point, he asked me if I would come again.”

Waldthausen has been back to visit Mohamad and his family two times since the initial shoot, each time for three to five days.

Since they have grown close, Mohamad not only allows Waldthausen to shoot him during intimate moments, like doctors appointments, but also writes her love letters. Waldthausen received a scholarship to fund the project from Postcode Loterij Fonds and the work will soon be published by de Volkskrant, the Dutch daily morning newspaper where she has worked since 2017 after studying photojournalism and documentary photography at University of Applied Sciences in Hanover.

— Brienne Walsh

Photos © Marlena Waldthausen marlena-waldthausen.de