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In Which Language Do We Dream? Rich Wiles and Ruba al-Hindawi 7 August to 13 November 2021 Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria in 2011 more than 500,000 people have been killed or are missing and an estimated 6.6 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes and country. In the West, we are familiar with the news headlines and the photographic images of the socalled ‘refugee crisis’. But what of those who are resettled and are trying to rebuild their lives? In Syria, Ruba al-Hindawi worked in a photographic lab in Homs. In 2012 when the city was besieged, she, her husband Rami and their children Mustapha, Yazan and Hanan had no choice but to flee their home country and live as displaced people in Lebanon. Five years later, in 2017, they were among the few admitted to the UK under the government’s resettlement programme, and housed in a small East Yorkshire market town. Later that year, their daughter Rayan was born. Most of their surviving family members are displaced and spread across several countries, with just a few remaining in Syria today. In Which Language Do We Dream? tells personal stories through the photographic perspectives of the al-Hindawi family and the relationships they have formed with new friends and neighbours. Archival family photographs rescued from Syria and mobile phone photos from the family’s life in Lebanon are presented alongside contemporary work by documentary photographer Rich Wiles and Ruba al-Hindawi, as well as a specially commissioned film of WhatsApp photos sent between extended family members and shared across national boundaries. This exhibition aims to raise debates around issues of displacement, identity, resettlement, integration and home. It challenges stereotypical images of refugees and counteracts negative perceptions in the media. Ultimately, through the rebuilding of a family photographic archive, it presents a universal story told in a personal way. To read more about the photographs pick up our exhibition guide with translations in Arabic and English. This touring exhibition is a co-created project, bringing together a five year photographic collaboration between Rich Wiles and the al-Hindawi family through discussions with curator Anne McNeill at Impressions Gallery. This collaboration was made possible thanks to public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
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