If Home Was a Sound

A Photograph by Lieve Shukrani Simoens

The wind is strong enough to send clothing aflutter. Several configurations of waves have formed—on the face of the water, in the design pattern of the scarf, in the folds of her outfit. Her back is turned to the camera, her attention drawn towards the horizon. A black hint of a strap appears on her back, matching the incline of her left leg. Day gathers in soft brilliance just ahead of her other foot; a step or two forward and she would be planted in a rectangular pool of light.

— moshood

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“We are all, always, in transit, searching for pieces of ourselves.”

This photograph, taken on the ferry between Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, Tanzania, encapsulates a moment suspended between worlds. Amidst the sea's expanse, I reflected on my mixed-race heritage and the concept of belonging. The picture is part of the "If Home Was a Sound" project I was working on at the time, which merges personal sensory experiences with broader themes of identity and the notion of home. The scene, amidst flapping clothes and the ocean's rhythmic sway, exuded an ethereal quality. The water whispered about the past; my mother's womb, my birthplace on the Belgian coast, all the waters that felt like home; imbuing the moment with movement and transformation. Through the lens of memory, I aimed to convey the sensory richness of that in-between space. This aural, fluid landscape of memory made me feel that we are all, always, in transit, searching for pieces of ourselves and connection.

This photograph resonates deeply with me due to its potential to evoke the sensory richness of remembering and transition. The image of my younger sister, enveloped in the fabric of time and space, serves as a poignant reminder of the complex interplay between personal history, shared experiences and our perception of the physical world. With her back to me, protective, not defensive, she experiences crossing the Ocean on her own. I often portray people this way, introspective, elsewhere but present. As if they could turn around at any moment. Where the visible and invisible worlds meet. I was drawn to the image's ability to simultaneously evoke a sense of longing and belonging, to hold multiple layers of meaning and emotion. It speaks to the transformative power of memory, where a person can become a vessel for our earliest memories, anchoring us to our past while propelling us into the future.

My approach to analog photography is rooted in an exploration of time, space and storytelling, trying to capture the fleeting beauty of the present moment while acknowledging its impermanence. For me, photography is a way of witnessing the passage of time. Making the viewer aware of the mobility of a photograph. A photograph travels. It appears static but is always in motion. Meanwhile, I recognise the "danger of the single story", as described by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in which a single story can shape perceptions and limit understanding. Through photography, I want to challenge this by presenting images that invite multiple interpretations and perspectives, placing captured moments from my visual archive in a new context. Every image has the potential to tell multiple stories and reveal new layers of truth. I want to create a dialogue about how stories construct images, our identity and the world around us. 

— Lieve Shukrani Simoens

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About Lieve Shukrani Simoens

Lieve Shukrani Simoens (1991, Ostend) is a Belgian-Congolese multidisciplinary artist and writer based in Brussels. Her body of work explores the connection between memory, identity, and the notion of home, where text, drawings, sculpture, video, and photography find each other over time. She challenges conventional notions of memory construction and identity formation, highlighting the reconstructive nature of memories and our search for control in an ever-changing world. See more of her work on Instagram and on her website.

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LAST WEEK — “An Open Window” by Minyahil Comander

I was the in-house photographer, and part of a charity team visiting schools in rural areas within Shakiso in Ethiopia to offer hygiene education and hygiene related products to female students when I noticed the little boy sitting on the window of his room and watching his younger sister and other girls receiving gifts, and lessons. I intentionally framed the shot to capture not just the boy but his immediate environment.

Read more.

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This is the 117th edition of this publication, edited by moshood, one of our editorial fellows. The newsletter also read on web (best for viewing images), and via the Substack iOS/Android apps.

TENDER PHOTO is a newsletter on African photography. Every Wednesday we feature a photograph and a short caption about it, and include a statement from the photographer. Last year, we published commentaries or photo-essays in response to photographs previously featured on the newsletter, including CORRESPONDENCES, CONCORDANCE, KINDRED, and INDEX. The ongoing series, AFFINITIES, ran between March 1–April 26. The next Friday series will begin in July.

Our goal is to work with African photographers by creating a platform in which they lead the cataloguing and engagement with their work.

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