Photobook Fair 2021

Serbest Salih in conversation with Liv Constable-Maxwell from MACK Books, about the Sirkhane DARKROOM’s new photobook i saw the air fly – a collection of images produced by the project’s young participants during photography workshops run by Serbest.

“In Southeastern Turkey, just kilometres from the Syrian border, is Sirkhane: a mobile darkroom which travels from village to village teaching children how to shoot, develop, and print their own photographs. Led by Serbest Salih, a young photographer and Syrian refugee, the darkroom is founded on a fundamental belief in photography as a universal and therapeutic language, and encourages children living in the area — many of whom are themselves refugees from Syria and Iraq — to experiment with the medium as both a form of play and a means of understanding the world around them.

Full of laughter and joy, i saw the air fly is testament to the unfailing resilience of the imagination, the healing power of photography, and the enchanting perspective of childhood.

All proceeds from this publication will go to the Her Yerde Sanat-Sirkhane non-profit.” – MACK, 2021