When, in 2002, I went back to Algeria to visit my parents – as they had moved back to Algeria by then – and I took these pictures of my mother’s house “La maison de ma mere”. For many years, we – children of immigrants – were not able to return to our parents’ home, so our parents relayed news about the country to us. But I realized that we were both stuck in a different space and time. Our experiences were different, partial, often short and misconstrued. For me, going back to Algeria was about experiencing it directly and exploring the landscape, as much as visiting the family. From this new experience, I created the work about return. Many of my pieces happened by chance or coincidence. They materialized from a lived experience, a story I heard, and a place I visited...

Courtesy of the artist and Kamel Mennour