In Which Language Do We Dream? at Impressions Gallery

Rich Wiles' new exhibition, In Which Languge Do We Dream?, is a collaboration with the al-Hindawi family.

It is 10 years since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. Since then, more than 500,000 people have been killed or are missing and an estimated 5.7 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes and country.
In the UK, we are familiar with the news headlines and the photographic images of the so-called ‘refugee crisis’. But what happens after displacement to those who are resettled and try to rebuild their lives? What about personal stories, and the relationships that form between new friends and new neighbours? And how do people hold on to loved ones and a past life that they had to leave behind?

In Which Language Do We Dream? will offer fresh insights into these issues, through the photographic perspectives of a Syrian family with first-hand experience. The multi-stranded exhibition will present an intimate perspective on the lives of displaced people: one in which displaced people themselves tell their own stories. Archival family photos rescued from Syria will be presented alongside contemporary photographs by Rich Wiles, new work by the al-Hindawi family, and in particular Ruba al-Hindawi, as well as a specially commissioned film of WhatsApp photos sent by their extended family members and shared across national boundaries.